


Choppy Waters

by bigwolfpup, TiBun



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Animal Abuse, Blood and Injury, Bottom Kotetsu, Child Abuse, Family Fluff, M/M, Merfolk AU, Mpreg, Physical Abuse, Self-Defense, Top Barnaby, loving family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-06-07 18:23:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6819103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigwolfpup/pseuds/bigwolfpup, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiBun/pseuds/TiBun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captured and taken from his ocean home, Merman Kotetsu is sold to an Aquatic center where he meets a handsome Merman  who had grown up in captivity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: We do not own any recognizable characters; only explore the possibilities.
> 
> So, this was supposed to be a shorter fic but it got away from us... XD

A sleek mer with green iridescent scales thrashed around in the water, ropes closing in and tangling around his arms and elegant tail, lifting him upwards towards the surface. His fangs bit down on the coarse rope, trying to break free before he was pulled over the deck of the ship and poked with long poles by the fishermen.

He needed to get out, needed to get back to the waters. But it was too late. He was trapped, helpless within the waterless world above his own.

"We'll make a pretty penny off this catch, that's for sure." A fisherman smirked, prodding the mer in the ribs with his pole, though he was unable to understand the strange language of the land dwellers.

He hissed, fins flared out in a threat as he tried to claw at the men gathered around, strange noises assaulting his hearing.

“Easy, now!” One man with a heavy New England accent stepped forward, hands in his pockets. “We need to keep him alive. It’s not every day we find a catch quite like this.” He moved closer, a cigar in his mouth and a rough look in his eyes. A smirk came across his lips. “Boy did you swim into the wrong waters…”

The mer hissed again, reaching out with his webbed hand, sharp claw-like nails extended in an attack. His body twisted, though he only became more tangled in the net. The mer was beautiful. Tan skin, golden eyes, dark brown hair dripping saltwater onto the deck, and markings on his chin that appeared to be a beard in the shape of two cats, though a closer look would show the markings were made of scale patches rather than hair.

"The Sternbild Aquatic Center has a mer. I'm sure they'll pay a high price to get a second. Especially when their scientists can properly compare a wild mer to one that had been raised in captivity. Shall we set course?"

The New Englander, quickly recognized as the leader, nodded and turned away. “We’ll squeeze some money out of them. As far as we know, this is the only mer in the area, and this may be the only chance they get to have a wild one in their possession.”

Mers were rare to the human world, and little was known about them. Oceanographers would always pay top dollar to get the chance to study one, and a team that already had one would pay whatever they needed to, to get a second to study how they interacted.

The fishermen were all seeing dollar signs with their latest catch.

Returning back to the city took a little while, as they had gone out quite a distance away to fish. It was difficult to get the captured mer to behave enough for them to travel safely, and even unloading was difficult as the captain called up the aquatic center.

Soon there were a few scientists arriving to make deals with the fishermen. There was a smaller man who was accompanied by a  larger black man, though both seemed to be quite calm and harmless. The captain approached both, instructing his men to keep the mer hidden until the deal was made. “Afternoon, gentlemen. Thanks for coming.”

"You say you caught a wild mer?"

“Indeed, we have. He’s a spunky one too. We could barely keep him contained all the way back home.” He waved his hand. “Anyways, we came to talk money. We have a starting price in mind, but how much would you pay for a wild mer?”

"We want to see it first. Make sure it is what you claim. Also, male or female? We already have a male. Female would be worth more to us."

“It’s a male, and we aren’t lying when we say we caught a mer, despite us being fishermen. But he’s a wild mer, so you can’t possibly turn him down, even if you do have a male already.”

"We'll pay—but negotiations will only open after we see what you have."

“…Alright. Boys, bring the mer out!” The man stood back as his fishermen came off the boat, struggling to keep the thrashing mer still to be looked at.

"Magnificent…" The men circled the mer.

"We want him."

“We want $10,000 for him.” The captain folded his arms.

And with that, negotiations started up and ended with a check being written and the mer being loaded in a tank on a truck bed to be transported from the pier to the aquatic center.

* * *

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

The day had begun like any other day for the captive mer; Food brought to him at the top of the tank and a few pets to sneak in some more fish. He loved the attention, and he was quite used to it since he had been raised in that tank. The waters were calm and cool, just as he liked it, so he swam about happily, watching the many children look upon him in wonder. It was his routine to perform flashy turns and flips in the water in a dance. He loved the attention he got as well.

The mer, named Barnaby, had come to love swimming about on his own next to many different sized fish. Some he ate, and others he left alone because they were rare. His caretakers had taught him not to eat the special fish, so instead he resorted to petting them. He also played with stingrays and small sharks in his tank when they would roam into his territory.

Right after eating, Barnaby quickly noticed there were no fish or sharks around to greet him and no children to gaze up at him with wide eyes. He swam around, finding that there was indeed no one around. He was the only living thing that was in the area. He found it rather odd, but decided not to question it too much until he saw the two scientist he had come to call friends; Doctor Saito and Ben Jackson. At first, Barnaby was happy to see them, and he swam up to the glass to greet them, but soon he saw the smaller tank being wheeled towards his own, and he instantly went on high alert, fins extending slightly in alarm.

The tank was wheeled through the door and up to the top deck of the aquarium which was protected by a large glass dome which the glass panels could be removed in the warmer months. The lid was lifted off, immediately the wild mer appeared, hissing and fins flared.

Barnaby backed away, fins extended more and eyes wide. Who was this new creature, and why was it in his territory? The captive mer growled slightly.

"Easy, easy, Barnaby. This new guy is more scared of everything than you are of him." Ben soothed the resident mer with golden hair, fair skin, green eyes and a long pink scaled tail.

Barnaby looked skeptical, but he moved closer and flattened his fins against his body. If what Ben said was true, then all he needed to do was look as nonthreatening as possible. Still, he wasn’t so sure about a new mer in his territory.

The tank was tipped and the wild mer was eased into the water. He sped up as soon as he hit the water, diving deep to escape the humans, only to smack into the glass wall to the observation room. He gasped, shaking his head and starting to bang on the strange invisible force keeping him from swimming further.

Shifting his gaze over to Ben with wide eyes, Barnaby shook his head. He didn’t want anything to do with the new mer, and he looked wild. The way the green scales shone differently than Barnaby’s told him that the new mer was certainly from the wild and not from another aquatic center.

"Yes, he's new and scared. Maybe it'll help if you show him a place to hide until he adjusts?"

Barnaby swallowed and dove closer to the struggling mer. He reached out to touch the tan skin lightly, not wanting to startle the mer too much.

The mer whipped around with a hiss, but upon seeing the resident mer, his eyes widened and his flared fins relaxed. Maybe this mer knew the way out of this scary new place.

There was a little hesitation from Barnaby before he swam off to a small cave that had been built into the tank, and he pointed at it to say that the new mer could relax in it.

Understanding, the wild mer hurried inside and curled up against a far wall.

Barnaby looked for a little longer at the mer before returning to the top of the tank, surfacing and shaking water out of his hair. He looked at Ben with a small smile.

"There, see? He's more frightened than you are. You are something a little familiar to him. He'll trust you before any of us."

Barnaby pulled a face and rolled his eyes. The mer had hissed at him, so they weren’t going to get along very well until he figured out he was stuck in the tank.

"Please try to put up with your new tank mate. We need him to learn more about you and your kind. We could help make your life here better."

He gave a nod went back to swimming around his tank. Barnaby was slightly bored with no fish or sharks to play with. He resorted to just swimming around, hopefully showing the wild mer that it was okay to swim around here. He was in no harm, and when lunch came around, Barnaby made sure to show that the humans could be trusted because they had food.

 

* * *

 

It took a few days before the wild mer felt ready to venture out of the cave, cautiously poking his head out and looking around. It was feeding time after the center had closed to daily visitors, and seeing nothing around in the water, he slowly crept out of the cave, his empty stomach too much to ignore. He had to find food; had to hunt the unfamiliar waters.

Barnaby was near the top of the water, waiting for his food and hoping to actually have some live fish to catch in the tank. It really would show the wild mer what he could do in the tank and stay safe while doing it.

After stalking the area, the wild mer grew frustrated at the lack of huntable food, though the gathered predators at the surface hadn't gone unnoticed. But he was cautious of going anywhere near the surface and the humans waiting up there.

To Barnaby’s pleasure, live fish were let loose in the tank to eat, and they sped off quickly to get away from the blond mer. He sped off after one of the fish, racing by the wild mer with a huge grin. The fish he was chasing cornered itself, and Barnaby attacked it with his hands. A small trail of blood floated up to the surface of the water as Barnaby swallowed the dead fish. He looked over at the wild mer, licking his lips.

The wild mer licked his own lips and looked up, spotting another feeder fish swimming for cover. With a powerful swish of his tail the mer was on top of the fish, catching it quickly and sweeping back down deeper towards the cave entrance with his catch.

Barnaby’s eyes widened at how powerful the other mer seemed. He should have known that the other was just as powerful as himself in terms of swimming and catching food, but somehow it surprised him. Maybe it was because he hadn’t seen another mer in almost twenty years when his parents were still alive.

The wild mer feasted upon his catch and waited, searching for a second before taking off again. After consuming three fish, the mer seemed more comfortable in the new waters and he looked over at the only other mer he'd seen since his capture, looking as if he was debating at greeting the mer.

Barnaby was lazily chasing another fish, playing with it almost. He wasn’t hungry anymore, so he had no reason to devour the fish. Instead, he followed it around endlessly in hopes of getting a little fun out of it.

The wild struck out, catching the fish and circling around, offering it out to the other mer; a show of respect.

The action caught Barnaby off guard, but he quickly recovered and took the fish with a smile, then bowed a little. He tore the fish in half and left one part floating in front of the wild mer.

The scientists watched the exchange, taking notes as the two shared the catch. "It's good to see the wild mer isn't hostile towards our Barnaby." Ben commented, rubbing his chin, "It seems mers are peaceful towards each other. A sense of community."

“When they aren’t terrified,” Saito added, who was also watching and taking notes. His voice was very quiet, but Ben was used to it and could hear him just fine.

"It'll be a while yet before the new one will trust us. Notice how he never goes close to the surface even when there is more food up there? Poor creature was traumatized being plucked from the ocean."

“I wonder if the temperature is comfortable for the wild one.” Saito moved closer to the glass, observing what looked like a stripped pattern in the wild mer’s tail. The pattern was very subtle, only being a slightly darker shade of green than the rest of the tail. “Should we also start thinking of names for him? He’s been here for a few days already.”

"Yes. The center will want to update the advertising as we now have two mers and our new one is showing his face more often."

“Perhaps Barnaby can see if he has a name already. It would be most helpful. If not, I have a few ideas for names already…”

"We don't even know if mers have names like we do. Barnaby had been just a pup when he was found beached and half dead next to the bodies of what we assume had been his parents. We named him and raised him here at the center. We don't even know if they have a language, though Barnaby has learned to understand us and we have successfully taught him to read and write."

Saito shook his head and looked at the wild mer more. “It looks like the new one is quite a bit older… maybe ten years or so. It’ll be more difficult to teach him to read and write I suppose.”

"Seeing as we taught Barnaby when he was still young? Yes, probably. What names are you thinking for our new mer?"

“Well, my mind keeps coming back to one; Tiger, because of his stripes on his tail. But it’s a really simple name, and maybe not so fitting for a mer.”

"Maybe we'll open up a name contest. Offer two free tickets for the person who suggests the name we end up using? That kind of event always brings in good publicity for the Center and I'm sure we'll get it okayed by the president."

“I guess there is only one way to find out if we can or not.” Saito put his clipboard under his arm and walked away from the tank. “Let’s leave those two alone so they aren’t stressed out about communicating with each other.”

"I'm turning on the cameras, though."

“Fine, fine. They won’t know.” The small man left the view of the mers, leaving Ben behind.

Ben switched on the cameras before leaving, the lights to the observation room off to help the mers relax.

Barnaby noticed the lights go off, and he watched Ben leave before directing his attention back to the wild mer. He moved closer curiously, circling around the other to observe his tail.

Finally, the wild mer broke the silence between them, speaking a language belonging only to merfolk. "…What is this place? Why are their invisible barriers preventing us from swimming further?"

“So you can talk. Your accent is heavy, though. I can really tell you’re from the ocean and not another aquatic center.” Barnaby moved back in front of the other mer and smiled. “This is the Sternbild Aquatic Center, your new home. Those barriers are glass walls. They protect us from the human children.”

"I'd say you are the one with the accent. It sounds…somewhat like the sounds the land dwellers make." He glanced around, "…so I truly have been taken from my home…"

“It’s nice here, I promise. You get food three times a day, and you can still hunt it down if they give it to you live.” The blond mer moved down and ran a hand over the scales on the other’s tail. “You have an interesting pattern on your tail, though it’s kind of hard to make out. Were you born with it?”

"Camouflage. Most mers develop some sort of markings to blend into their surroundings better. You don't know that?" the mer blinked, watching him.

“No. I’ve been living here for as long as I can remember. Those two scientists tell me they found me washed up on a beach with my parents dead beside me.”

"Hunters—all of them. What makes them think they can take us from our homes? Hunt us— _kill_ us for no reason?"

“Hunters? Are you talking about the humans? The ones that work here aren’t like that. They take good care of me and make sure I’m healthy and happy. They’ll do the same for you if you work with them.”

"They took me out of my home—took me from what's left of my family. My father—gone because of land dwellers—killed. My mate—gone because of land dwellers—poisoned by the toxins that they pump into the waters. And now…I have been taken. My daughter left without either parent."

“Humans don’t know about us. They think we’re a myth, and that’s why they keep destroying the ocean. It’s not their fault… I’m sorry, I don’t know your name, and I never really introduced myself. My name is Barnaby. It’s the name I was given when I came here because I couldn’t remember my name after I was beached.”

"…Kotetsu…"

“Kotetsu… all humans aren’t like those who make the ocean dirty. The men who work here are very friendly, if you’ll only try to get to know them. They taught me how to read and write. I can tell them your name tomorrow with my writing lesson. You can learn too.”

"…What is 'read and write'?"

“Read and write… reading is… where you look at letters on a page and understand them. Writing is making the letters yourself.”

"…letters?" these words were all completely human, and Kotetsu's accent in speaking them grew incredibly thick.

Barnaby sighed and shook his head. “Never mind, I’ll just show you tomorrow.” The blond mer swam off to the cave, settling into the sand beside it.

"Don't you want to be in your natural home? In the Ocean with the rest of our kind?" Kotetsu asked, swimming closer and twisting to look him in the face, his long dark hair flowing in the currents the movement created.

“I don’t know that life. It’s different, bigger, and scarier. I don’t know what it’s like to live with other mers. Anything I could ever want is here, so why would I go to the ocean?” Barnaby looked up at him with curious green eyes. “Why do you like it there so much? It’s dangerous out there. Our kind dies out there, while here we can live for a long time happily without getting hurt or sick.”

"We aren't hunted by anything but the land dwellers. We live deep within the safety of the water in collected communities, working together to make a comfortable life for all. Ours is a peaceful life only disrupted by those you say take care of you. We are free—not trapped."

“I never said you were trapped. And you can be free here. This tank does open up to others that hold so many kinds of fish that you can swim with, and there are sharks and rays that you can play with too. I can show it all to you tomorrow. This place is free and safe, I promise you.”

"Free…with barriers and surroundings that separate us from the ocean where we can go wherever we wish whenever we wish? Where we can never see any other members of our kind except us two?" he shook his head, "This isn't freedom."

Barnaby bit his bottom lip, fins flaring up a bit in frustration. “We’re not like circus animals here. We are well taken care of, and if you can’t come to see that, then I won’t bother with you anymore, and you can try to escape all you like.” With that, the blond mer swam off to another part of the tank, hidden by several tall plants.

"You've never known freedom! I feel sorry for you!" Kotetsu huffed after him before turning into the cave he'd hidden in for so long.

“I know freedom…” Barnaby mumbled to himself. He spent the night there, and then stayed there through the morning and into the afternoon. His only food was a few bits of seaweed and a stray fish that had gotten into striking distance.

 

* * *

 

It was a few days before the two mers allowed themselves to cross paths again. Kotetsu still hadn't left the area around his cave to explore the rest, and he hid every time the center was open to visitors; humans pressing their faces against the glass in trying to get a closer look at the animals swimming about. It was clear he wanted nothing to do with humans.

Barnaby was swimming around some, and he had managed to give the scientists the name of the new mer. They were curious about his name, but they didn't want a fight to erupt between the two. So Barnaby returned to entertaining the many children who came to visit. He really tried to show Kotetsu that not all humans were bad.

There had been one point when there was an upset child, clearly separated from her parents. She was sitting alone on a bench next to the glass, crying into her little hands. Barnaby saw the girl was away from the normal group, and he was curious, so he went over and accompanied the girl. Once she saw him, her eyes lit up, but she continued to cry. Barnaby wanted to calm her, to reach out and touch her to let her know she would be fine, but the glass hindered that. He resorted to running his had over the glass behind her head. Soon her parents did arrive, and they thanked the mer for keeping her entertained and still. He bowed to them before swimming away.

Kotetsu watched the exchange from a distance, still refusing to leave the cave with so many human eyes looking in on them.

Barnaby swam by the cave, glancing in at Kotetsu to encourage him to come out. He even dared to speak in their enchanting language. "Kotetsu, the humans want to see you. I'm sure they'll love you."

Kotetsu sank back a bit, his golden eyes glancing at the room full of humans, unsure.

“Come one, they won’t hurt you.” He swam closer, trying to get Kotetsu out without forcing him.

"You say that, but I've witnessed what they do to our kind."

“Well today you’re witnessing a different side of the humans. Come on!” Barnaby couldn’t hold back anymore, and he grabbed Kotetsu’s hand, then yanked him up and out of the cave. Immediately the crowd of people standing there watching lit up, and many kids pressed their faces against the glass to see the new mer better.

"Hey—what did you say your name was?" Kotetsu asked as he felt every human eye on him.

“Barnaby. Let’s get closer.” He pulled Kotetsu closer to the glass slowly. The kids he was moving towards started jumping in excitement, eager to meet the new mer.

"B-Bainy? Bunny?" The name was another one unnatural to their language, and Kotetsu seemed to have troubles with pronouncing it. "Bunny, I'm not so sure about this…"

“It’s Barnaby, not Bunny. Look at these kids though! They adore you, Kotetsu!”

"That's what I said, Bunny. Ah! Th—that's close enough." Kotetsu tried to stop them.

“What, they won’t hurt you. Watch!” Barnaby swam up to the glass and put his hands on the cool surface. Children laughed and put their hands in the same place Barnaby’s were.

Kotetsu didn't move, "You said that invisible thing was to protect us from them. Why get so close?"

“Because there’s no way for them to get in or for us to get out. The glass is thick. It won’t break easily.” He turned and grabbed Kotetsu’s hand again, pulling him to the glass. “Just put your hand on the glass, and watch what they do. It won’t hurt, I promise.”

Kotetsu frowned as his hand was guided to touch the glass, the children all grinning and laughing as they moved to do the same, eyes full of wonder. Slowly, he began to relax.

Barnaby put his hand next to Kotetsu’s and watched the kids run around and play. Some pretended to be mers themselves, bobbing their heads like they were swimming and flipping their fins.

Kotetsu watched them until he spotted a man in the back, a cold, unsettling look in his eyes as he watched the two mers. It put Kotetsu on edge again and he backed up into Barnaby.

"That one isn't innocent like the land dweller pups…"

The blond grunted as he was backed into, and it spooked him a little. He flipped around quickly, getting away from the glass and Kotetsu. His eyes were wide. “Who are you talking about?”

"Him." He nodded to the man.

“Oh, him. He makes me nervous…”

"He looks like the ones who have attacked our kind before…the same look in the eye…"

“I’ve never had an actual encounter with him. He just stands there and watches. I feel like he’s plotting something sometimes.”

"I refuse to trust that one…"

“I don’t trust him either.” Barnaby swallowed before moving to the back of the tank where the tall plants were. He swam about, stirring up some stray fish that were hiding.

Kotetsu lingered a moment longer, looking at the man before turning and swimming away from the glass again.

Barnaby followed Kotetsu and pulled him into the cave quickly. “Okay, I need to tell you something about that man. Are you willing to listen?”

Kotetsu nodded.

“He’s been known to… abuse some of the animals here. He runs tests on them and feeds them things that kills them in a few days. He’s not a good man, and I’m worried I’ll be his next target. He does these things to animals that have ‘gained his trust’ or get too close. Whenever he comes around the deck, I try to hide so I don’t have to confront him.”

"Like I said, he has the eyes of a killer."

“I… think he has something to do with the death of my parents.”

Kotetsu looked up curiously.

“He hasn’t hinted it, but I just have a feeling… he’s the type that kills to get what he wants, including a young mer’s parents.” Barnaby sighed and shook his head.

"…How did you come to be in this place?"

“All I remember was waking up in a lot of pain. I saw two humans come towards me, and I would have fought back, had I not been nearly dead. I passed out, and the next thing I knew, I was being dumped into this tank.”

"How long ago?"

“Almost 20 years ago. I was four.”

"And yet you want to stay here?"

“I have no memory of where I belonged or how to belong in the ocean. I want to stay because I have friends here. Out there, I have none.”

"…You'd have me. You'd have all of our kind. Our numbers dwindle because of humans. Many years ago we were hunted almost to extinction and those who survived the time banded together to create a safe place for any mer to call home. My mistake was venturing too far from that home—and too close to a fisherman's net."

“I don’t think I could live in the ocean… I’m too accustomed to living here.”

"The water's fresher, gives more energy."

“…I still don’t know.” Barnaby backed up against the wall of the cave and bit his lip.

"What? You think I'll force you to go? I can't even get myself back home."

“No, I mean, I know, but I feel safer here than what I think I would living in the ocean. I couldn’t just leave this life behind anyways. I’ve grown up around some of the humans that come here. I see them regularly, and I’ve become friends with them. If for some reason we were taken to the ocean, I wouldn’t like it.” He sighed and swam out of the cave, looking above and smiling when he saw Ben at the top of the tank.

"I wish you’d give it a chance…" Kotetsu sighed, curling up into his tail before uncurling and moving to the fair-haired mer, curious of what he was looking at. Kotetsu followed his gaze up to the man above, and frowned, "…one of the land dwellers who put me in here with you?"

“His name is Ben. He’s really nice, and he likes to pet me.” Barnaby surfaced with a big smile at Ben. The man smiled back and crouched to stroke the blond hair of the mer.

Kotetsu swam back and forth nervously, not trusting the human, but wanting to show his companion that he would try to get used to life here and not hide in the cave all the time. Slowly, he floated upwards until his head broke the surface just barely. His eyes just above the glittering water.

Barnaby looked at Kotetsu with a huge smile, and he continued to encourage him in their native language. Ben looked at Kotetsu in wonder, a gentile smile on his face as he reached his hand out slowly. “Hey there, buddy. I won’t hurt you.”

Kotetsu eyed him and then looked at Barnaby, unsure of swimming closer to the man.

“Come on, I just want to pet you.” Ben encouraged Kotetsu more, trying to look as inviting as possible.

Kotetsu inched closer, still unsure, swerving more towards Barnaby than straight to the man, showing that he trusted the mer more than anyone else present. But he was finally within the man's reach, his ear fins flat.

“There we go, that wasn’t so hard.” Ben chuckled softly and stroked Kotetsu’s hair slowly, then his ear fins. “I told you I wasn’t going to hurt you. You can trust me.”

The wild mer slowly relaxed, a strange purring sound rumbling from his throat. The petting, while it was strange, felt nice.

Barnaby made what sounded like a laughing noise to Ben and moved closer to also be pet again. The human’s calm hands ran over both mers’ hair and ears, both purring contently for several minutes before Ben had to stop.

“Sorry, boys, but I have to do actual work. Maybe tonight I can come back, and I’ll sneak in some extra fish.”

Barnaby whistled happily and splashed his tail on the surface of the water.

Kotetsu didn't know what was being said, but a small smile curled his lips—until he spotted the man with cruel eyes appear behind the scientist and his fins flared and he let out a hiss, grabbing Barnaby and backing them away from the edge of the tank.

Barnaby was spooked by the action, and he ended up splashing both Ben and the other man as he made his escape with Kotetsu. His loud whistles and squeals were heard echoing in the room and the tank. His fins were also flared up, though mostly in shock rather than defense.

Ben sputtered to get the salt water out of his mouth, wondering why the two had escaped so quickly, that is until he turned to see the president and owner of the aquatic center. “Mr. Maverick. I’m terribly sorry, I hadn’t realized you came up behind me.”

"It seems I have startled more than just you. I apologize." The man chuckled, "I was curious as to this new mer we spent so much money to get."

“He’s incredibly shy. I only just managed to get him up here to pet him, but he spooks easily too.  He’s seemed to have taken a small liking to Barnaby already though. We thought it might take a while.” Ben stood up and flicked some of the salt water back into the tank. “His tail is beautiful though, isn’t it? It’s been well taken care of for sure, just in a way we don’t know yet.”

"I see." The man, Maverick, moved forward with his hands folded behind his back with confidence. "I'll have to remember to approach the deck carefully next time I visit." He moved to the edge of the water, his expensive shoes nearly touching the ripples. "What did you report that you named the new mer?"

“Kotetsu. It was the name the mer had before he got here. Barnaby helped us figure that out.” Ben swallowed nervously, afraid Maverick might not be happy with that name.

"Before? Nonsense, he's just a fish. Totetasu, you said? Odd choice for a name."

“Kotetsu, and… it was the name he had before he got here. It wasn’t our choice.”

"Why not call him something that is easier to remember? Something we can market with Barnaby better… I saw he had stripes…and he's from the ocean so…how about… Wild Tiger and Barnaby of the Sea? That sounds much easier to remember than Barnaby and Tutetsa."

“Kotetsu…” Ben shook his head. “I’ll have to talk to them about it, as well as Mr. Saito. Saito did suggest the name Tiger, but we decided against it once we knew the new one’s actual name. Kotetsu has been responding really well to his own name too. We’ve tried calling him Tiger, but we get no response from him. Even Barnaby doesn’t acknowledge the name Tiger.” Kotetsu had surfaced a few times when no one was around and the scientists had walked in and said his name. He'd look before fleeing into the depths when they used his name.

"He can be taught just as Barnaby has been taught his name. If one thing animals can be trained to do it's recognize their assigned names."

“We really shouldn’t be saying that these mers are animals… They think independently and have their own language that allows them to communicate just like we do. They have their own sounds, and most of the language is verbal. These two are just like you and me, just from the water instead of land.”

"Fantasy." Maverick waved, turning around to face Ben, "You train the new mer to be less wild; I'll handle the advertising."

Giving in slightly, Ben sighed and nodded. “Yes, Sir. I’ll see to it right away.”

"Good. Be sure our new mer learns his name. I want to see progress next time I come down here."

“Yes, Sir.” Ben watched in silence as Maverick left the area, and when the man was gone, Ben let out a heavy sigh. “This isn’t going to end very well.”

From below the water, Barnaby listened to bits a pieces of the conversation. The scary man wanted to train Kotetsu, after Barnaby had promised the other mer that no human at the aquatic center would try to train them. “This isn’t good,” he muttered.

Kotetsu was deeper under the surface, swimming with a stingray along the back away from the glass, unaware of what had just happened above.

Barnaby looked down at Kotetsu with a worried expression, then went back to the surface to confront Ben. The human looked incredibly frustrated, so Barnaby thought a few pets would help relieve the stress. He surfaced and looked up at Ben with wide eyes.

Ben sighed and looked down at Barnaby, "I don't know why he owns a center like this when he doesn't care for those who live here…thinking you are just a fish…you're more than that—so much more." He placed a hand on Barnaby's head.

The mer closed his eyes and leaned into Ben’s touch, then splashed the water lightly. He gestured to the top half of his body to clarify he wasn’t a fish, then pointed at Ben.

Ben laughed, "Yes, we are very similar. I wouldn't be surprised if we had a common ancestor before humans took to the land…"

Barnaby shrugged with a smile. Looking back down at Kotetsu, he tilted his head slightly, admiring how the other mer’s scales shone with the light as he chased the stingray.

"I'm glad you two are getting along. I know you were uneasy at first, but the company's nice, hu? Someone of your own kind to be with for once?"

The nod from Barnaby was slow, and there was a light blush on his cheeks, but he didn’t really realize it, too mesmerized by the way the other mer moved. “ _There’s no way he’ll be trained._ ” he spoke in his language.

Ben sighed, "You truly are the smarter species…able to learn our language enough to understand it, but we have been unable to learn yours…" he straightened up and sighed, "I need to get working. I'll come back later before I go home." He smiled before walking away.

Barnaby smiled up at Ben and splashed the water before diving back in and joining Kotetsu in chasing the stingray around the tank.

* * *

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Bunny!" Kotetsu swam up to Barnaby a few days later after the center closed and they were alone again, "I was thinking…maybe I could teach you some of our traditions? I know you don't _need_ them here but…it could bring you closer to your parents, learning what they would have taught you."

“Traditions?” Barnaby had been busy chasing around some brightly colored fish when Kotetsu stopped him. “What sort of traditions?”

"Mer traditions." Kotetsu shrugged, "Games, activities, important celebrations and holidays."

“The humans do all those things too. They have some odd ways of doing things really, but I’ve grown to like them. It’s been interesting.” Barnaby shrugged and smiled. “Alright, so what’s first?”

Kotetsu smiled, happy to be able to share part of the ocean with his companion. He took Barnaby's hand and led him to the cave where he had a game set up and ready to be taught. It was a simple child's game, but it was a good starter to teach Barnaby. Perhaps Barnaby would remember it slightly from his childhood.

Once in the cave, Barnaby was slightly confused. “What’s this? Is it a game?”

"Yes, one played by very young mers. I thought this may spark memory with you so it'd be a good place to start. Though usually we have shells rather than stones, but I was limited on what I could gather for it."

“Oh, okay. So is it like tic tac toe? You prevent the other player from making a complete row?”

Kotetsu shook his head, "No, we try to stack them higher than the other without them falling over. No creating sudden currents or bubbles. That's cheating."

“Ah, so like Jenga! Okay I can do this, so you start and I’ll follow.” Barnaby moved so he was facing Kotetsu.

"Jungah?" Kotetsu frowned, tilting his head.

“It’s a stacking game where you move blocks from the bottom of the tower to the top while still keeping the tower balanced. I’ve only seen adult humans play it, so it might be challenging for the younger ones.”

"This one we both get a stack. The stacks start at three shells—er, rocks. See?" he gestured to the two stacks next to a pile of stones. "Then at the same time we each choose a stone from the pile and carefully add it to our stack. You can also make the stack wider for support but it only counts in height. If we run out of stones to add and neither one has fallen, then the winner is the tallest stack."

“Seems easy enough. Let’s play!”  The two mers began to play the game, and though it seemed easy, Barnaby had lost the first round, his stack falling over only a few rocks in. They played the game for many rounds until Barnaby finally started to get the hang of it. He started winning every round somehow, and that was when they stopped. Barnaby had gotten too good at the game it had seemed.

"Have fun?" Kotetsu asked as they gathered the stones to put away near the cave entrance.

"I did! I liked that game. Did you play it a lot as a kid?"

"Yeah, and as a parent. My daughter loved playing it with me when she was little."

"I forgot you had a daughter. How old is she? How old are you?"

"She's nine. I'm thirty-five."

"Thirty-five... Ten years older than me." Barnaby moved out of the cave and watched a few fish go by. "You mentioned you had a mate before. I assume the same one you had your daughter with."

A saddened look crossed Kotetsu's face as he nodded, "I miss her to this day…"

"What was she like?"

"Beautiful, gentle, stern, fierce…strong… She was a leader—an alpha until the toxins made her sick… She was a queen, I was just a guard—a protector of our city with an uncontrollable passion to protect…she was the force that was able to tame me."

"You were mated to an alpha? Wasn't that a risky thing for you to do?"

"Not at all." Kotetsu shook his head, "It was simply her place in the community."

“So did you, like, become a higher rank because she was your mate? Or did you stay a guard?”

"My position didn't change. I had worked hard to get that position. It's one of the more dangerous positions but I am proud to be what I am."

“A guard and a queen as mates. Such a scandalous sounding story.” Barnaby chuckled. “And you two had a daughter. The ocean life seems so strange to me.”

"We mate for love, not status. No young mer is born outside of our parent's love. None is unwanted."

“I wish I could have witnessed that more than four years. I grew up without knowing what it felt to be loved… But I guess it worked out alright for me in the end.”

"Even those who lose their parents are loved. Taken in by one of the nanny mers who watch the young when the parents cannot. The whole clan acts as one big family."

“That sounds really nice actually… Does the clan just have one big territory, or is it every mer for themselves? Like if another clan were to come up, would the whole clan defend their territory, or would individual mers protect their own?”

"There are some who will live alone, but mostly we stick together as a community. We have villages all over the ocean, some large, some small. But we are all at peace."

Barnaby sighed and watched the people looking in the tank at him and Kotetsu—the cleaning crew, mostly. “The only sense of community I’ve ever had was with the fish and the sharks. Of course with Ben and Saito as well, but never with another mer that I can remember… You’d be the first.”

"I'm used to being around many more of our kind…I'm from a smaller village, but there are still many mers living there."

“You’re the first I’ve met in a long time. It… has been a bit lonely here without another mer to have around.”

Kotetsu reached up, touching Barnaby's cheek, "We are a social kind. I don't blame you for being lonely."

“The fish and sharks have been good company, but being the only mer here for the longest time troubled me when I was younger. Recently I’ve taught myself to get over it, because there was no chance that I would ever see another mer. But I guess I was wrong in my assumption.”

"…Yeah…I guess you were…"

“Ah… anyways. What other traditions did you want to show me?” Barnaby swam up to the glass and waved at some kids who must have been on a private tour as they filed in, looking up in awe at the watery world around them.

"One at a time. I have to try seeing what we have available in this place."

“Oh, okay…” The mer tapped the glass a little in thought, then turned back to Kotetsu with a big smile. “Hey let’s give these guys a show! Do you know how to dance?”

"I do…do you?"

“Of course!” Barnaby laughed and started doing a routine of twirls and turns, sending bubbles flying everywhere.

Kotetsu circled down and then back up, speeding for the surface, breaking it easily and doing a flip as he caught extra air to bring down into the waters, twisting and turning along with Barnaby, letting out the air slowly to create bubbles.

The crew watching cheered and demanded more, and the two mers continued to perform until they were completely exhausted. Barnaby waved before retreating to the cave. "Oh boy, they always wear me out. They love the performance though!"

"Do you dance for them often?"

“Sometimes. Depends on how much they wear me out. They eat it up every time. They’re curious about us, just like we’re curious about them. We see what they do every day, so we have to show them what we do every day as well.”

"…I wouldn't say we are curious…not in the ocean. Getting too close gets us killed or captured."

“Well I hope you have come to see that not all humans are bad monsters who want to hurt you. A lot want to help.”

"It's still…difficult. I prefer them behind the barrier than above us."

“Give it some more time. You’ll come to like having them as friends.” The younger mer sighed and lay on his stomach on the sand. “So what’s it really like out there in the ocean? With all the fish you could eat and the other mers to talk to? Is it relaxing?”

"Usually. We all have our parts to play, and there are times when food is scarce, usually when land dwellers are too close and are taking all the fish. It can be hard work, but it is also peaceful."

“I guess I didn’t think about there ever being a shortage of food. I’ve never experienced it. How long have you gone without eating before?”

"…We’ve gone months with little food, sharing what we could catch among our numbers."

“Months?! That’s such a long time, I don’t think I could have survived. If one of my meals is missed, I usually end up starving by the time the next one rolls around.” He shrugged. “Struggles of being an active mer I suppose.”

"They take more than they need." Kotetsu shook his head.

“Well, maybe someone should tell them. Only the mers know that food shortage is a problem, so they should confront the humans.”

"How?"

“Well, I don’t know, go to the surface and tell them ‘Hey you’re taking our food’? I don’t know how ocean mers approach humans at all.”

"We don't. Plus we can't communicate with them."

“Oh yeah, I forgot you guys can’t understand humans. Uh, try to steal the fish back? But that might get you killed. I’m sorry; I wish I understood the situation better.”

Kotetsu didn't say anymore, curling up on the soft sand.

Barnaby bit his lip, and after a bit he reached out to touch Kotetsu’s arm. “I’m really sorry Kotetsu…”

"It's not your fault."

“I want to help you, but I just don’t know how.”

Kotetsu sighed and nodded, "It helps if you understand my distrust for the land dwellers…"

“I do understand a little now. But you should at least try to learn to understand them. That way, you can have a way to communicate with them. Not that I’m trying to get you to like them or anything.”

"Their language is confusing."

“It can take a bit to get used to, but once you pick it up, it’s really quite easy. Their language is a lot like ours actually.”

"You can't speak it—you only can understand it and you grew up around it. I didn't."

“Okay, it’s easy to listen to once you know what they’re saying.”

"That may be beyond me."

“I’ll help you if you like.”

"You could try but…I'm not really a young sea sponge anymore…"

“I know. But who’s to say old mers can’t learn new tricks?” Barnaby chuckled and rolled onto his side. The smile he had lingered for a little bit before it faded into a frown. “They were talking about giving you a different name. And they wanted to tame you too. They say you’re too wild still, but I don’t believe it. I think they just want an excuse to use and make more money.”

"A new name? But my name is my name!" Kotetsu crossed his arms, "They wont tame me, either. 'Too wild', what does that even mean? It's not like I have attacked any living thing but the fish I hunt."

“I don’t know. But a lot of that was suggested by the man with the scary eyes. He wanted to name you… Wild Tiger I think it was. It doesn’t really suit you, other than the stripes you have on your back and fins.”

"Tiger…tiger…like a tiger shark?"

“Maybe. Your fins do kind of resemble a shark.”

"I don't think so…" Kotetsu said, looking at his fins.

“I don’t know. But he wanted to call you Tiger, and I don’t think it fits you. I think Kotetsu is a good name.”

"Well, he won't get my attention by calling me that. I like the name my parents gave me."

"I like the name you were given, too." Barnaby smiled at Kotetsu with a slightly blush on his cheeks.

Kotetsu blinked, his own cheeks heating before he turned his head away as he curled up with his tail.

There was a small hot feeling that briefly rose up in Barnaby, causing him to shiver and shake out his fins. He ignored the feeling, and soon he was curled up as well and dozed off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Months passed and slowly Kotetsu grew used to his life at the aquatic center. He still wasn't happy to be away from his natural home and his family, but he enjoyed the company of the mer he shared his new home with.

It was a hot summer day and the deck above the tank had been opened up, fresh salty air drifting through and the sun beating down, warming the waters. The two mers had decided to take advantage of the day and had pulled themselves up onto the deck, laying near the water's edge as they soaked in the warmth, though Kotetsu had noted that the rock-hard deck could use a few layers of sand to soften it and make it more comfortable. But he still struggled to communicate with the two scientists—let alone understand them.

Barnaby very easily could have been asleep on the deck, eyes closed and tail fins twitching slightly. He was still awake though, and he enjoyed the moment in the sun with Kotetsu. They just had to be sure they didn't dehydrate while out of the water.

Kotetsu sighed and let his tail dip into the water a moment before bringing it up to let the water fall down upon him as he cracked his eyes open and looked at Barnaby.

"You should wet yourself, Bunny, it's been a while."

The mer lazily opened his eyes just enough to scoop some water on his tail fins and dump it over his body. He did it a few more times, then let his tail just hang, barely touching the water.

Kotetsu smiled, closing his eyes again, his hand touching Barnaby's as he relaxed in the sun again. Barnaby yawned and tried to bury his face in his arm, determined to let sleep take him in the sun. It didn't take the mers long at all to drift off completely, unaware of the tapping of shoes against the concrete.

Maverick came upon the two mers with a scowl. He wasn’t happy about the two sunning without anyone watching them, so he took it upon himself to watch them, though watching them wasn’t exactly what he would have described him as doing. He was more wanting to push them back into the water so he didn’t have to deal with them. Besides, they were fish and they belonged in the water, not out on the deck sunning themselves like humans. Maverick cleared his throat and nudged Kotetsu with his foot.

Kotetsu grunted and swatted at the foot, "No, Bunny…sun's nice…" he mumbled, though Maverick only heard the clicks and squeaks that animals made.

The man looked around and made sure no one was watching before he pushed both Kotetsu and Barnaby into the water.

Barnaby made a surprised shriek as he hit the water, disoriented by the mass of bubbles and flailing fins around him.

Kotetsu reacted similarly, jutting about in the bubbles like a scared goldfish before he calmed down, realizing he'd fallen into the water. He shook his head to clear it and broke the surface again.

Once Barnaby surfaced, he gasped and coughed like he had gotten water in his lungs. His hair was dripping wet as he tried to climb back onto the deck, only to find Maverick stopping him from doing so.

“Barnaby, you’ve been told to stay off the deck before, haven’t you?”

The mer slowly shook his head, afraid of what the man might do to him.

“Yes you have. You’re letting that wild one get to you. You need to teach Tiger, not let him manipulate you. Stay off the deck.”

Upon seeing the man, Kotetsu flared his fins, hissing.

“Oh, hush, Tiger. I’m not hurting you am I?”

Barnaby’s fins flared a little at the name Kotetsu had been given. A small growl rose in his throat.

“Okay, I see how it is.  You two won’t be tamed by simple instruction, so I guess I have to use more serious matters.” He folded his arms. “Tiger, no food until you learn to behave like Barnaby, and for you, Barnaby, you’ll be punished by no diner tonight. Keep slipping up and you’ll end up like your ‘friend’.”

Kotetsu didn't understand, but flaring his fins wasn't making the man back down, so he brought his tail up and gave a powerful swish; sending a wave of water up onto the deck, splashing the man head to toe in the fishy salt water.

“Ah! You filthy, good for nothing fish! Come here!” Maverick reached out for Kotetsu’s tail, but his balance was off, and he fell into the water with an angry shout.

Barnaby’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He quickly swam away, dragging Koetsu with him and whistling in fear. They went to the corner of the tank furthest from Maverick, and Barnaby huddled down in the corner in fear.

“Get back here!” Maverick splashed about before he was able to climb back onto the deck, soaking wet and angrier than ever. “Damn fish don’t know anything! Stupid animals!”

Kotetsu curled up with Barnaby, trying to make them as small as possible, hiding in the coral and plants.

After some more shouting, Maverick left to clean up and to get dry clothes on. The two mers could tell that he was not happy, and that they would most likely get punished harshly.

“We’re so dead,” Barnaby said quietly

"He was threatening us! Pushing us in the water and sounding threatening…what else were we to do? We did nothing wrong!"

“He does what he wants here, and now we’re not going to get any food for sure… Unless we eat the other fish. We’ll get him back that way. If he doesn’t allow us to have our food normally, we’ll eat his good fish…” As promising as it sounded, Barnaby knew Maverick was smarter than that, and most likely they would be left alone in the tank without any fish or sharks swimming around.

"He's not the one that releases our dinner into the water…"

“He’s the alpha here. He can tell anyone what to do, and they have to obey him. Oh, I hope Ben doesn’t catch word of this. He’ll be so disappointed in us.”

Kotetsu's fins lowered, "…I'm sorry, Bunny…"

The younger mer looked at Kotetsu with a little less fear than before. “We may go without food for a while. I know you’re used to that somewhat, but I want to know what it’s like, so stop me from complaining if I do start, and don’t let me pass out. Seaweed is a good food source, though it’s hardly filling and does very little for energy. We eat it only if we have to.”

Kotetsu nodded and sighed, "Still…I caused this…"

“Don’t blame yourself. He came and intruded our territory without permission. We do our best to survive until this is resolved.” Barnaby cupped Kotetsu’s face. “We’ll get him back, I promise.”

Kotetsu closed his eyes and sighed, resting his forehead against Barnaby's as his hands settled on his hips. "This world is confusing…he is the alpha, but he is not of our kind nor is he part of our community and living in our territory…"

“Humans think of themselves as the dominant species. Whether that’s true or not, they still are on top. We still are subject to their needs, and it’s not fair at all.”

"…Still…he looked silly dripping wet." Kotetsu laughed, "His hair looked like it was falling off."

Barnaby couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous image, but it was true. The man soaking wet was quite a sight to see. Too bad there weren’t any people around to witness it. “He looked way out of place. He certainly doesn’t belong in the water.”

"And if that’s how land dwellers swim, they certainly need to stay out. They'll drop to a lower position on the food chain quite quickly." Kotetsu continued. He backed up slightly and flailed his arms in mockery of the man, "Did you see it? I'm surprised he didn't sink doing this!"

The other mer laughed more. “He looked like baby mer trying to swim to the surface.”

Kotetsu stopped mocking the man and sighed, letting himself sink into the weeds they had hidden in once more, "I wish someone would challenge that land dweller's alpha position. Doubt either of us could…we can't even meet him on land. We'd be at a disadvantage… And getting him in the water again would be no good…he'll be back on top as soon as he got back to land and I for one wouldn't want him staying in our waters."

“We could drown him…But Ben might not be too happy with us if we do that.” Barnaby thought for a while, then rose out of the weeds. “Ben would be happy to help, though. I know he’s not entirely a fan of the scary man.”

"We don't kill unless it is to eat." Kotetsu shook his head, "I'd rather not try to eat a land dweller…"

“I don’t think they’d taste good.” Barnaby pulled a face.

"I agree. Plus they are not naturally our prey. They may make us ill."

“Well anyways, I’m sure we’ll find a way to get rid of that human. For now, all we can do is wait and see if Ben will help us.” Barnaby swam away and towards the place Maverick took a dip in the salty water.

Kotetsu followed—slowly—until he was sure the man was gone before he felt safe drawing close to the surface once more.

“I’ve seen the way he treats his own kind.” Barnaby looked at Kotetsu. “The man doesn’t like other humans. All he cares about is power and money, not the lives of other humans and the animals here.”

Kotetsu glanced around the deck carefully before hoisting himself back up onto it and sitting with his tail still in the water, "You talk about 'money' a lot when about that man…what is 'money'?"

“It’s a type of currency. You use it to get stuff, and the more you have, the more you can get.”

"Strange concept…"

“Apparently humans need money to get food or a place to live. It’s all strange to me as well.” Barnaby hoisted himself up next to Kotetsu and sighed. “The sun feels so nice.”

"Mm, Kotetsu agreed, laying back down, but was careful not to drift off to sleep as he soaked in the warmth.

They remained there for a while, soaking up the sun as they had before Maverick came. Barnaby washed some of his tail, and he admired Kotetsu’s for a bit. The green scales were so shiny and beautiful, and the slightly darker ones that formed the stripes were even more beautiful. Barnaby wanted nothing but to run his hands over them, but that might have been going too far with Kotetsu, considering their relationship status.

Kotetsu sat up and stretched before dipping himself in the water fully and getting back up on the deck and shaking some of the water from his dark hair. He glanced over at Barnaby and smiled.

Barnaby shielded his face from the water as he smiled back. “Thanks for the shower. I didn’t need it though.” He used his tail to scoop up some water and dumped it on Kotetsu.

"Hey, I just rehydrated!" Kotetsu laughed, splashing back.

“It won’t hurt to hydrate more!” Barnaby slapped his tail on the surface of the water with a laugh.

Kotetsu lunged forward, tackling the pink mer into the water playfully.

They splashed into the water again, water going everywhere on the deck as they chased each other around. Barnaby tried several times to grab the other mer’s tail. He created currents by turning and flipping quickly. He was determined to trap Kotetsu in one of the currents, but he was slightly lazy about it, so all they did was spin the other mer gently.

Kotetsu laughed, fighting back with his own lazy currents as they played. Really, if they were to be starved, they should reserve energy, but that didn't stop the two mers from playing their game.

Barnaby suddenly raced to the other side of the tank and jumped up above the surface of the water. He dove deep, touching the sand at the bottom before doing it all again. He tagged Kotetsu quickly and swam away to avoid being touched, and he noticed people starting to gather once again at the glass to watch.

Kotetsu took chase, dipping and swerving as he reached out, finally slapping Barnaby's tail and turning to flee.

Barnaby turned back around quickly to chase the other mer, and he dodged every fish that was in the way of touching Kotetsu again. Mers were very social, just like humans and dolphins, so the playing helped to lift both mers’ spirits after the incident with Maverick. It was like nothing had happened, and Barnaby was perfectly fine with that.

 

* * *

 

In his and Saito's office, Ben smiled as he watched the screen. The cameras were on, capturing the playful game between the mers. "Have you noticed how much happier Barnaby is with company of another mer? He's gotten healthier, too if you look at the color of his tail. It's gotten more vibrant over the months."

“Kotetsu certainly has helped Barnaby in many ways. I think there might be a few tricks they know that we don’t, and I’m sure some are new to Barnaby.” Saito nodded as he watched the screen as well. “They’re dancing again almost.”

"They certainly seem to be a highly social species. I feel bad for how lonely Barnaby has been before Kotetsu was brought in. I'm sure our company and the company of the other creatures who share the tank was far from being the same as having another mer. I know I would be lonely being the only human in a place for years of my life…"

“Indeed, he did show sighs of loneliness before Kotetsu arrived. But his happiness has multiplied by nearly 100%. Nothing we could have done would have ever made him that happy.” Saito agreed.

"Well…maybe if Kotetsu was female…next month is the start of the mer mating season according to how Barnaby's behavior changes every late summer since he hit puberty. I am slightly worried how two males may act towards each other during that time, even if there is no female to fight over. They could get violent. We may have to separate them somehow. We know very little about the mating habits of mers."

“Perhaps Barnaby can get that information to us from Kotetsu before the season starts. Then we’d have an idea as to what it’d be like.”

"Maybe. But even Kotetsu may not know what'll happen. He's likely used to there being females around during the mating season."

“He’s lived around both males and females. I would think he’s had to fight off a few males to have a mate.”

"Yes, but my point is, he may not have been without a female to fight for. He may not know if instinct will still cause a fight between the two males here."

“Then I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. It could be interesting.” Saito thought as he watched the two mers chase each other. “Do you think we should close off the tank to the public until this is over?”

Ben thought on that for a while, tapping a finger on his desk as he did so. "We'll wait and see. Mr. Maverick won't be happy about our star attraction being closed for a month, so before we have to deal with him, let's see if they do get violent. If they do then we'll close it."

Saito simply nodded and continued to observe the mers.

Barnaby and Kotetsu continued their game for several minutes until they tired of the chase. The younger of the two settled back into the tall weeds in the corner of the tank, and he fell asleep there.

* * *

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

That evening when the exhibit closed for the night and it was time to give the mers their supper, the two scientists gathered up some live fish and started pushing them up to the deck.

Barnaby surfaced first with a smile. He moved closer with a happy whistle, eager to have fresh food to eat without Maverick around.

"Hey Barnaby." Ben smiled and reached out to pet the mer, "Where's Kotetsu? Did you wear him out with that dance earlier?"

As he spoke Kotetsu appeared, poking his head out of the water and sniffing, smelling the promise of food.

Barnaby turned to look at Kotetsu as he surfaced. There was light chatter between the two before they both turned to look at Ben.

"We have a question for you two before we let you eat." Ben said, sitting down on a crate.

Barnaby tilted his head.

"We're curious as to mer mating rituals."

The mer flushed instantly, and he was hesitant to ask Kotetsu about what the two scientists were curious about. “They… want to know about mating rituals… I can’t really tell them much since I don’t know any of it.”

"…Just tell them that we mate for love." Kotetsu shrugged, "Should be good enough…if they want details on how then…" he shook his head.

Saito held out a dry erase board and marker for Barnaby to use to write on.

Barnaby took the board and wrote down what Kotetsu said. His writing was a little wiggly, but it was pretty legible.

"Mate for love?" Ben repeated, "So there is no fighting over a female?"

“Any fight over females?” Barnaby asked Kotetsu.

"Of course not. Just a fight for dominance."

Barnaby wrote it down and showed Ben.

The two men looked slightly confused, but just shrugged it off thinking it meant the male had to _show_ his dominance before they could mate, even if they loved each other.

"So you two won't be at odds next month?"

Barnaby shrugged, not really sure himself. “Do you think we’ll be fighting next month?” he asked Kotetsu.

"Why would we fight?"

“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll have a small tolerance for each other?”

"I doubt it." Kotetsu smiled as he swam closer to the deck, his tail brushing against Barnaby's as he moved to watch Barnaby write the strange symbols that communicated with the land dwellers.

Barnaby wrote down that there wouldn’t be a reason for the two of them to fight, then smiled up at Ben and Saito. He tried to not be affected too much by Kotetsu’s tail touching his.

"Alright, good. As long as you two are safe with each other." Ben laughed and Saito released the fish into the tank.

Kotetsu chirped happily and dove down to chase after his dinner.

Barnaby followed the older mer and caught some of the fish quickly. He was actually becoming nervous about the month to come because he really didn’t know what was going to happen between the two, especially with the growing feeling that Barnaby was experiencing for Kotetsu.

"Did you just feed them?" Maverick asked the scientists as he stepped through the gate in a fresh suit and scowl.

Saito looked up at the older man and nodded. “Just like always, Sir.”

"You shouldn't have done that. No food for three days for those two fish."

“Uh… why?” Saito looked confused as to why the two mers were not allowed food.

"Those fish broke rules _and_ tried to drown me. You have been too lax with their training. You need to break Tiger of his wild ways or else I'll get someone in here who will. He's a bad influence on Barnaby."

“Kotetsu and Barnaby would do nothing of the sort. They’re too good to try to drown anyone.” Saito folded his arms with a suspicious look in his eyes. “And they don’t need training if they’re already very well behaved.”

"Obviously you don't know these animals as well as you should, Doctor. They are dangerous, out of control, and in need of discipline. That is why you will not feed them after tonight."

“I am still very confused at to why you would blame such a horrible thing on these two mers. They have cause no trouble since being together. Do you have proof they attacked you?”

"My suit is still soaked and hanging in my office waiting to be taken to the drycleaners."

“I would believe you if your suit was torn up. They do have claws, after all.”

"They tried to drown me, and as I fund your research, I expect you to follow orders."

The small man paused before giving an uncertain nod. “Yes, Sir. They won’t get food for the next three days.”

"Good." Maverick turned on his heel to leave.

Saito looked up at Ben. “Do we listen to him? I can hardly believe that Kotetsu and Barnaby would try to drown Maverick.”

"We'll feed them…but we'll have to be sneaky about it. Even if it means we can only release fish in the middle of the night for them."

“I don’t think he really likes the two. He keeps calling them fish. I wonder if he even liked Barnaby to begin with.”

"Oh, he likes Barnaby and Kotetsu…he likes the money they bring in, that is."

“That’s so selfish of him. He should care about the two very rare mers he has in his possession. It’s not every aquatic center that has the opportunity to have mers within their reach.” Saito moved to the edge of the deck and looked down at the two mers chasing down the last of the fish.

"All we can do is our best at caring for them and keeping them healthy and happy." Ben sighed.

“Especially with mating season coming up next month. Who knows how wild that might get?” With a shake of his head, Saito moved back and headed to his office to record more from the monitors and cameras.

"I'll test the water balance; we haven't done that yet this week." Ben nodded, going to get some test strips.

 

* * *

 

Finally mating season came, and the attitudes and behaviors of both Kotetsu and Barnaby had changed. They were a little sluggish in their normal movement if they weren’t focused on one specific thing. If something spooked them, they’d get away almost faster than before. Everything was sensitive to them, as they were more sensitive during this time.

There had been a physical change in both mers as well. Their scales a deep, highly reflective color that caught the late summer sun with every movement, glittering and enchanting all who glanced their way. They both also showed a smaller appetite, focusing less on chasing after food in favor of their new activities.

Barnaby’s behavior was different than the year previous, Saito observed. He was extra cautious around Kotetsu, even staring at the other mer for no reason known to the scientists. Sometimes, Barnaby would be in the center of the tank just staring into space and breathing slightly heavier than normal. He knew exactly what was happening to him, but he hadn’t experienced it at the intensity he was currently experiencing.

Kotetsu's behavior was entirely new to the scientists. The wild mer often scoured the sandy floor, examining every oddity he could find as if searching for something and not finding it. At times, it seemed to frustrate him.

There wasn’t much actual interaction to be had between the two, as they mainly kept to themselves. Barnaby would snap a little at Kotetsu if he got too close on accident, but the younger would soon calm again and return to whatever it was he was doing.

Despite both eating considerably less than they had before, both were built incredibly, gaining a little more body mass to add to the spectacular display of their tails. Barnaby had looked to be a bit bigger than Kotetsu in terms of body mass, which had never occurred when the mer was by himself and without anyone to compete against. There really wasn’t much competition in the end though. Like what Kotetsu had said, neither really had a reason to fight with each other because of no female mer being present.

Or, so the scientists thought.

One day, fed up with the lack of a quality find, Kotetsu decided to seek out help. At dinner when food was released into the water and Barnaby took chase, Kotetsu stayed above and reached out, tugging on Ben's pant leg to get his attention. Of course, he couldn’t understand human speech or write like Barnaby could, but he decided to try his best at communicating while Barnaby was busy with his dinner.

Ben was a bit surprised to feels something tug at his pants, but when he saw Kotetsu looking up at him, he relaxed and crouched down. “Hey there, Kotetsu. How are you doing? Aren’t you hungry?” He gently pet Kotetsu’s hair.

Kotetsu blinked at him, hoping that meant the man would try to understand what he would be trying to tell him. He clicked and pulled himself up onto the deck, sitting on the edge so he was more at the man's level. He then cupped his hands together and Opened and closed them in mock of an oyster. Then he looked up at Ben expectedly, hoping he knew what oysters were and could figure that part of the message out.

“Ah… You want a clam?”

Kotetsu didn't know if he'd been understood or not so he repeated his hand signal for oyster a few more times before moving on, pretending to break it open and to pick up a precious treasure hidden inside.

“A pearl? Oh wait, an oyster?” Ben repeated the motion Kotetsu had made to show he understood.

Assuming that was a confirmation Kotetsu chirped happily, his tail splashing a little.

“Okay, I’ll see if I can find an oyster for you.” Ben got up and went to search out an oyster for the mer, not sure why he wanted one.

Meanwhile, Barnaby had cornered a fish and was playing with it a little, poking it back into the corner when it tried to escape. He wasn’t paying too much attention to the fish, staring blankly as he made slow movements.

Kotetsu joined Barnaby, then, swimming down and lazily hunting a fish through the plant life as he waited for the man's return.

The younger mer moved his gaze to Kotetsu, watching him from the corner of his eye. He still couldn’t help but bare his teeth and flare his fins just a little when the other mer came closer.

Finally, Ben came back with several oysters in hand. He even had a few freshwater clams, just in case he had misunderstood Kotetsu.

Kotetsu abandoned the fish he had been chasing and broke the surface, chattering excitedly at the sight of the oysters. He'd done it! He'd communicated with the land dweller successfully. Oysters were a tasty treat, but that wasn't the reason for his request. He hoped one of them would have a treasure hidden inside. If not, he had a feeling, at least, that Barnaby had never tasted one. Along with the oysters was a shelled creature he had never seen before, but looked similar to his requested oysters. Being from the ocean, he was unfamiliar with the freshwater cousins of the oysters, and he was curious about them. Did they taste good? Did they also create treasures? He wanted to test one and see. But he knew the rules about food in his new home. He and Barnaby couldn't have it until they were released in the water or given to them, so he waited to see if they would be offered.

“Well, go on. I have a feeling you won’t be eating these.” Ben sat the oysters and clams down and pushed them towards Kotetsu. He was curious as to what exactly Kotetsu wanted to do with them.

Kotetsu chirped out, taking them in his arms and sounding like he was thanking the kind scientist before he dove down and settled in a corner away from Barnaby, laying the shelled molluscs out before him on the sandy floor.

Above, Ben hurried to observe Kotetsu with the cameras set up in the tank, grabbing Saito's attention and explaining what the wild mer had done.

They watched as Kotetsu picked up a clam, examining it with curiosity and tapping it with his claw. He blinked at it a few times before using his claws to break open the shell and dig out the meat found inside. No treasure to be found, but the flavor was a satisfying treat and he chattered to himself happily that it was also a nice treat to share with Barnaby.

He began to crack open the shells, not eating any of them as he wanted to wait and share them with Barnaby, knowing they would keep long enough to do so. The numbers dwindled down and all the oysters had been empty of treasures. There were, however, two clams left and the next one he broke open made him dance in place, twirling back as he plucked a small deformed pearl from its meaty center. It was a pink color and oblong, but mers didn't care much about how "perfect" a pearl was. All of them held the same value.

Kotetsu looked around and carefully hid the pearl before swimming over to Barnaby, tapping his shoulder to get his attention.

"Bunny."

Barnaby spun around quickly, fins flared slightly. “Kotetsu…”

Kotetsu smiled, "I have a special treat to share. Come on." He took Barnaby's hand and pulled him over to the oysters and clams. He picked one up and offered it to his companion as he settled down. "Oysters. They are a special treat from the ocean."

“What do they taste like?” Barnaby settled in the sand as he took the oyster and looked it over.

"The best thing you have ever tasted." Kotetsu grinned, "Try it."

Barnaby sniffed it hesitantly, but he took the meat and popped it into his mouth. His eyes widened instantly and a smile spread across his lips. Once he swallowed it, he couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “It’s very good. I wish I would have known about these sooner.”

"I asked the land dweller Ben for them. I'm glad he understood me." Kotetsu smiled, picking up an oyster for himself.

“You’re learning to communicate then?” Barnaby smiled at the other mer with the new excitement that Kotetsu was learning more.

"I did this." Kotetsu showed him his made up hand sign for oyster. "It took him a bit but he understood and brought these back for me."

“Ben is very good at knowing what you mean with hand gestures. I made a similar one for a shark. Somehow he understood.”

"He also brought these, which are new to me. I think I'll call them oysters two. But they taste good, too. They must come from a different ocean or something. I had to try one when I was breaking them open." Kotetsu handed Barnaby a clam.

“Oh, this is a clam. It’s related to the oyster I think…” Barnaby cracked open the clam he had been given.

"Smart Bunny." Kotetsu chuckled, reclining back against a bolder and digging meat out of a clam.

“I’ve picked up on a lot of things in the years I’ve been here. They feed these mainly to otters if I’m not mistaken. They’re just as good as those oysters.” Barnaby took the meat out and ate it.

"Otter…that's another unfamiliar creature to me." Kotetsu shook his head, "The ocean is big, but the land has many mysteries we can't even imagine."

“Ben said something similar to me. Like the humans have only barely discovered stuff in the ocean, so I’m not surprised they haven’t really found out about mers. It’s like we’re still a myth.”

"We hide deep down where they can't find our villages."

“Humans can only go so deep before their bodies are crushed by the pressure. It’s why you don’t see many people come into the tanks here. It’s too deep for them to explore comfortably without proper gear.” Barnaby rose from his resting position and watched a fish go by. Sitting had made him a little restless, so he had to move a little.

The two finished enjoying the special treats, a pile of shells left in the sand. They would be useful for games and activities later on, so Kotetsu didn't bother taking them back up to be taken away. Instead, he reached into his hiding spot and picked up the pearl, feeling it in his fingers as he tried to suppress his nerves enough to present the gift. Barnaby may not even know the tradition, and he knew he'd likely have to explain.

He glanced over at Barnaby and puffed up, swimming a little closer, "You know, it's rare, but sometimes oysters and…I guess those clams hold more than just a treat. Sometimes, they have a treasure hidden inside."

Barnaby took one glance at Kotetsu's figure and flared his fins a little; not sure if he felt threatened or not. "Treasure? Like what?"

"Like this." Kotetsu held out his hand, the pearl settled upon his palm.

Barnaby's eyes widened upon seeing the pearl, and he carefully picked it up. "This is beautiful! Such an odd shape, and the color is amazing." He examined it closely with much interest.

"Um," Kotetsu shifted slightly, "Our kind hold treasures like this one dear. They are special. They come in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes, and…during mating season...if one mer gives one to another…it means…well…I guess I'm saying that I…"

His face was flushed red and it was clear he was nervous. Finally he puffed up again and forced himself to say it, "I like you, Bunny! I never imagined myself wanting a new mate after my dear Tomoe died, but…you…I mean…" he deflated again, blushing even darker as he glanced up at Barnaby.

Barnaby flushed, though his fins flared more. He was silent, but he moved closer, a hand coming up to Kotetsu's cheek and stroking it gently. After several minutes, he found words to speak his mind with. "You want me to be your mate..."

Kotetsu swallowed and lifted his eyes to meet that green gaze, "…Yes."

A small smile graced Barnaby's lips as he moved closer to Kotetsu, tails brushing against and slightly wrapping around each other. "I'll gladly be your mate, Kotetsu."

Kotetsu seemed to go even redder as he reached up, cupping Barnaby's cheeks with both hands, "I'm surprised that you feel the same way…" he breathed.

“I’ve been feeling this way for a while now… I couldn’t quite understand what was going on, but now I know.” Barnaby flared his fins just a bit more, trying to make himself look bigger and more dominant.

Instinct was beginning to kick in. The romance of confirming mutual feelings for one another had done its job and they were falling into what came next.

Kotetsu's eyes widened and his own fins flared out, his hands moving down to Barnaby's middle and holding on as they began to spin in the water.

Barnaby let out a small growling noise, and he pulled Kotetsu closer while making himself look the biggest he could and wrapping his tail tight around the other mer’s.

It was like a dance, the two fighting for the upper hand and ultimately determining which of them would fall to which position. Bubbles escaped and they sank to the sandy bottom, their strong tails sweeping around and curling around one another. Growls, claws, teeth… it wasn't the gentlest process, and blood was spilled, drifting in thin streams before disappearing into the vastness of the water.

Ultimately, Kotetsu felt Barnaby win out as his back pressed into the soft sand and sharp teeth found his collarbone, threatening to pierce the soft skin around it and causing him to stiffen and give into his position with a low growl. The younger male had won the fight for dominance, but the coupling was far from being over.

There were a few people watching the two mers inside the tank as Barnaby drowned out Kotetsu’s growl with his own, much louder growl. His tail tightened around the other mer, and his teeth released Kotetsu’s skin, moving to lick it gently instead. The growling soon turned into purring, Barnaby’s hands moving up Kotetsu’s torso slowly. His green eyes flicked up to Kotetsu’s gold ones as he licked the older mer’s neck.

Kotetsu respected his position, no longer fighting back for control as he tilted his head back in a submissive display. His claws no were longer digging into pink scales for control, but relaxed fingers rubbing the wounds soothingly.

Barnaby gave a small nip to Kotetsu’s neck while moving his hands back down to a more sensitive area. He moved up the other’s neck slowly until he reached Kotetsu’s chin. His teeth rubbed fondly over the patches of scales there, soft chirps of comfort being produced by Barnaby. Everything was new to him, but it somehow came naturally, and it almost scared him.

His mate gave a sound crossing between a whimper and a purr as he slid his hand between them, doing his duty to coax his partner by rubbing his sensitive scales that hid away what was needed. It wasn't long before he felt it part and a thick, hardened member slipped into his hand, ready to do its job.

The younger mer flushed when Kotetsu stroked him. He hadn’t ever really touched himself before like this, so it was a brand new experience that promised to pleasure greatly. Barnaby felt his tail twitch as he swallowed, and he grabbed Kotetsu’s sides gently.

"Just follow your instinct." Kotetsu managed to moan out, guiding Barnaby's hand to his own intimate place hidden behind scales. They both needed to be coaxed to open up if they were truly going to lay official claim to each other as mates.

Barnaby instantly began stroking Kotetsu in the place he had been guided to. The scales were much softer there than any other place, so it took a little rubbing for the mer to pick up a steady pace like Kotetsu had done. He started to pant due to his need to mate growing stronger

Kotetsu moaned, his eyes closing and his scaled parting way for his own member which had been coaxed out of hiding—but not into Barnaby's hand. Instead, Barnaby's fingers slipped under it, continuing to rub and keep the opening stimulated. This part was new to Kotetsu. With his previous mate he'd been granted dominance and had never fallen into submission. It made him wiggle and moan.

Barnaby whined, physically hurting at this point because of his need. He continued to rub his mate until he felt Kotetsu was ready to receive him. Flicking his tail to lift him slightly, Barnaby positioned himself before pulling Kotetsu’s body up to his own. He slipped in easily, and his tail curled around Kotetsu’s tightly.

Kotetsu gasped, moaning out long and low, his hands settling on Barnaby's hips to hold him close

A slow pace started up between the two, Barnaby wrapping his arms around Kotetsu and nibbling his neck lovingly. His purring intensified slowly. The whole experience was so amazing and exciting to Barnaby, he almost had no control over his actions.

The purring seemed to echo in the water, causing constant ripples upon the surface the entire time the two mers were one; their purring in sync. They drifted on the currents, their bodies twisting together.

Ben and Saito were still watching on their monitors; unable to look away from the mating mers. In the way of unexpected surprises went; this was one of the biggest.

Ben swallowed, "I…didn't expect a few oysters to lead to this…"

“This is quite interesting. Though I am surprised that they choose to do this in front of people…maybe mers don't care about privacy the way we do…” Saito shrugged as he continued to watch.

Indeed, it was quite entertaining for some of the people watching, though most of the children’s eyes were shielded for innocence purposes. The intense purring was heard through the glass, and despite why the purring was occurring, it was really mysterious sounding.

"…Should we…clear out the viewing tunnels and rooms connected to Barnaby and Kotetsu?" Ben asked his partner.

“Maybe we should, for safety’s sake.” Saito moved away from the computers and out of the office to start shooing people away from the mers’ tank.

"…Still…it's their most beautiful dance yet…" Ben sighed, pushing himself out of his chair to help his partner clear the exhibit until the two mers had finished.

Barnaby was still going strong with Kotetsu. He never felt more alive while entwined with his mate, and he didn’t want the moment to ever end. He never knew he was capable of feeling this good, but he was sure he wanted to do it many more times. The pace he had created was faster and more rhythmic, causing him to reach deep into Kotetsu with ease.

"B-Bunny!" Kotetsu curled into Barnaby's arms, his body shuttering.

The younger mer kept thrusting into Kotetsu with an incredible amount of passion, and at some point they had ended up against the glass, where Barnaby got more leverage to finish the two of them off. It started with a heat building up that was just barely noticeable, but it progressively got larger and more noticeable to the point where Barnaby was breathing hard and keeping a steady, fast rhythm.

Kotetsu's fins flared as he cried out the heat too much and a peak being hit. He gripped Barnaby's shoulders, his tail wrapping around Barnaby's.

Barnaby grunted as he buried his face in Kotetsu’s neck. He drew himself closer to the edge, and when he was nearly at his limit, he was going full force on the other mer. His thrusts were fast and hard. Nothing could have prepared him for the pleasurable end, but his climax hit like a brick wall; so intense that he groaned loudly as he bucked through his orgasm.

Kotetsu gasped, twitching as he felt himself being pumped full. They lay against the glass a moment longer before sinking back into the sand below, still holding onto each other.

Barnaby took a bit to catch his breath, panting against Kotetsu’s neck until he had the energy to sit back and look at his mate. A small smile crept onto his lips. “Kotetsu…you’re amazing.”

"Bunny," Kotetsu smiled into his shoulder, "…pretty sure you are the amazing one. Hard to believe this was your first time."

“I was only following instinct. I couldn’t even bring myself to think about what was happening.” Barnaby paused briefly before leaning forward and lifting Kotetsu’s face, placing a gentle kiss on the other mer’s lips.

"Ah?" Kotetsu blinked at the unfamiliar show of affection. "…what was that?"

“It’s a kiss. Humans do it all the time to show affection to their mates.” Barnaby pulled back slightly with a blush. “Sorry, do you not like it?”

Kotetsu shook his head, "You surprised me…that was…a nice thing your land dwellers have created… teach me."

Barnaby was more than happy to kiss Kotetsu again, this time lingering a bit to get Kotetsu’s taste, and to let the other mer do the same with him.

Kotetsu pressed into the kiss, letting their lips lock—he could still taste the oysters Barnaby had enjoyed.

Daring to go further, Barnaby opened his mouth slightly and ran his tongue along Kotetsu’s lips, demanding entrance into the other mer’s mouth.

Kotetsu gasped, his lips parting. Was this part of the human show of affection? He moved his hands up to the back of Barnaby's head, holding him there.

The younger mer was all too happy to stay there and kiss his mate as much as he wanted, exploring every inch of Kotetsu’s mouth. He tasted very nice in all honesty. Barnaby felt like he could kiss Kotetsu for hours and never grow tired of it.

* * *

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Maverick didn't look happy as he walked into Ben and Saito's office and research lab. A scowl on his lips and arms crossed over his chest. "What's this I hear of you two closing our main exhibit off to paying customers this afternoon?"

Ben turned from the computer he was working at and winced a little. “Ah, well Kotetsu and Barnaby were getting a little… ah, rough?”

"Violent? Only select members of staff can get close enough where that would be an issue."

“No, not really violent… They fought a little, but it wasn’t too serious. We just figured it would be safer to block off the exhibit until they were calmer.”

The man looked unconvinced, "They pay to come see mers. Or did you forget that that's how we make the most of our money here?"

“No, Sir, but if we would have let the people see what was happening, there might have been the possibility of losing some money… because of what Kotetsu and Barnaby did.”

"And what did they do that would lose us money?"

“…They… mated.”

The man was silent for a long moment, "…Sorry, what?"

“They mated,” Ben said quieter.

"I hadn't realized that one of our male mers were female. Come now, Doctor, this isn't time for your jokes."

“I’m not joking! If you want to go look at them, they’re still acting like they did before.” Ben sunk into his chair as he talked, afraid Maverick might blow up on him.

"Show me. You record them, don't you?"

“The cameras were rolling, yes.” Ben pulled up the video files and searched until he found the desired shot. He showed it to Maverick, covering his face.

Maverick watched in silence as Barnaby pushed Kotetsu up against the glass and thrust into him like he'd lost all control and mating was the very meaning of life. His expression didn't change at all until he'd finished watching the clip and straightened up, "It would seem that Tiger really is a female, and not a male at all. Strange. As they look half human I assumed females would have breasts. Nevertheless, we can't be letting them take part in their animalistic orgies during opening hours. We'll have Tiger removed from that tank during the day."

“Wait, wait. First, Kotetsu still is a male; that we know for a fact. Second, Removing Kotetsu from the tank might result in bad behavior from Barnaby. He could hurt someone, which will cost us to lose even more money.” Ben sat back in his chair. “Those two have formed a bond much stronger than we ever thought would develop. We separate those two and all Hell is going to break loose.”

"Did I ask your opinion? Take that wild mer and put her in a transfer tank during opening hours."

“I’m warning you now that once we do this, we won’t be responsible for anything that happens because of their separation.” Ben stood and walked out of the room, heading for the deck by the tank.

"So shoot them up with part of a tranquilizer to calm them. It's only until this 'mating season' is over with and they start to act normally."

“Sure it will be,” Ben muttered to himself. He got away from Maverick and sat on the deck with an upset expression.

Sensing something was wrong, Barnaby looked towards the surface. He pulled Kotetsu along with him to the top of the tank, and when he saw Ben sitting alone on the deck, he had a bad feeling about something that was going to happen. Together, the two mers moved closer to the man cautiously.

Kotetsu tilted his head and looked at Barnaby, "Is that look normal for him?"

“No… something’s wrong.” Barnaby moved to the edge of the deck and looked up at Ben with a confused look.

The man glanced at Barnaby and sighed. “He just doesn’t care about you guys. He doesn’t understand.” He reached out and pet the mer’s hair.

Kotetsu swam in closer, wrapping his arms around Barnaby and resting his chin on his shoulder.

“He doesn’t bother to understand you two.” Ben smiled gently and pet Kotetsu as well. “I wish I could make him see how amazing you guys are. But it doesn’t help that he wants to separate you because of earlier today.”

Barnaby, who had been rubbing a thumb on Kotetsu’s hand, looked at Ben with wide eyes, then chattered aggressively in protest.

Kotetsu blinked and clicked, clearly wanting to know what had upset his mate.

“Apparently us becoming mates was a bad thing,” Barnaby summarized, holding Kotetsu closer. “The scary man wants us separated because we mated during the day.” He huffed. “Couldn’t really help it. It just happened.”

"…That’s our natural time to mate…"

“It’s not fair that we have to be punished for something we do naturally.”

Ben sat watching the two mers communicate, wishing he could understand their language.

Kotetsu shook his head and curled around Barnaby to hold him close, "I won't let him separate us. Mates belong together—always."

"We're sticking together. I'm not going to tolerate him trying to separate us. As soon as he tries, I'll attack him." The mer flared his fins a little with a threatening glare.

Kotetsu nodded, "…Especially if the mating confirms to be successful…"

Barnaby's glare turned to a confused look. "Successful... Like...what do you mean?"

"Mating…has a thirty percent chance of resulting in reproduction."

“So… you’re telling me that we could possibly end up having a pup from this?” Barnaby paled a little.

"Yes. It's sort of the reason why we have such strong urges to mate with the mer we love."

Barnaby was speechless to say the least, and he grabbed the edge of the deck for support. He honestly didn’t know how he felt about the fact that he might be a father after his only time mating. But he supposed he should have expected something like that to occur. He knew deep down that it was the reason mers mated, but it still freaked him out just a little.

"Are you okay?" Kotetsu purred to soothe his mate, nuzzling under his jaw.

“I… don’t know. I’m confused by all this to be honest.” Barnaby stroked Kotetsu’s hair gently.

"What's confusing you about it?"

“I don’t know. Maybe that’s the confusing part of it.” Barnaby sighed and nuzzled Kotetsu’s cheek.

"I guess you wouldn't have been taught about mating before you came here…so young…" Kotetsu nodded to himself, "Mating season is when adult merfolk go into heat. It's the time when reproduction chances are highest, and we have a natural strong urge to take part in mating with our mates. The mer to submit is the one who has the chance to carry offspring, and the gender of that mate is what determines the gender of the offspring. Males can only carry males, and females can only carry females, which is unique to mer kind. It's why we all have both parts to be the submissive one and the dominate one in the mating. If we conceive, we can carry anywhere between one and three pups."

“Between one and three? That’s… quite a lot actually. I don’t think I could handle three pups at the same time.”

"Larger litters are rare. The dominate mate needs to be extremely potent for it to happen." Kotetsu soothed, "Don't worry so much." He decided to plant a kiss on Barnaby's neck.

“Sorry, I’m trying not to. This was only my first time after all. Surely nothing will come from it.”

"We'll know in a few weeks once the season ends." Kotetsu purred.

“How will we tell?”

"My markings for camouflage will darken even more, my appetite will increase, and I'll start getting bigger in this area." He responded, touching his middle.

“For how long?” Barnaby touched Kotetsu’s middle and drew small circles on it.

"Nine months before birth, so the young will be born next spring when it's warmer and they have a higher chance at surviving when they are still tiny and vulnerable."

“That seems like a long time from now.” Barnaby moved his hands to play with some of Kotetsu’s hair.

Kotetsu nodded and purred, "Gives you time to get used to the idea of being a parent if we were successful today."

“I’d rather not think about that now…”

"I can't help it…" Kotetsu's cheeks heated, "…you filled me up so much…"

"I... I don't know if I should be proud of that. Was it uncomfortable?"

The older mer shook his head. "My first time as the submissive mate…I rather enjoyed it. You made me feel good."

"It felt good to me as well. We definitely need to do it more often." Barnaby chuckled as he gave the other mer a nip on the ear. The action drew a whimper from his mate and he bit a little harder, his tail seeming to move on its own and wrap around Kotetsu's.

Ben cleared his throat, "You two aren't going to mate again right now, are you?"

Barnaby looked up at Ben and tilted his head, then turned back to his mate and asked the same question.

Kotetsu shrugged, "You seem to be starting it."

Barnaby’s eyes widened, and he pulled Kotetsu back under the water quickly, giving Ben his answer to his question. The man shook his head and stood up from his sitting position, then moved back to his office with Saito.

 

* * *

 

Kotetsu sighed happily, curling into Barnaby as they slumbered lazily upon the soft sands. The mers were completely unknowing of the diver who had entered their territory and swam down close, a rope in hand and setting to work lassoing it around the end of Kotetsu's tail before quickly getting back to the safety of the deck.

Maverick nodded, "Alright, the hook is set, now riel her in."

Another man with him hit a lever into place and the rope began to be cranked in, the lasso tightening around Kotetsu's tail.

Below Kotetsu was suddenly yanked away from Barnaby and he cried out, fighting the rope.

Barnaby was woke instantly at Kotetsu’s cry, fear and anger taking over as he swam up to his mate and tried to pull the rope off. He fought as hard as he could, yanking on the rope and trying to bite through it. He screeched and hissed as he found it hard to remove the rope.

Kotetsu was forced to break the surface, dangling upside-down over the water as he reached down for his mate and the safety of the water, wiggling helplessly like a fish on a line. Loud desperate shrieks sounded above the deck.

Barnaby jumped out of the water to reach for Kotetsu, and he landed on the deck, hissing with flared fins and wide eyes at the man controlling the lever to the rope. His screeches got louder, and all those who were watching what was happening outside of the tank covered their ears, for the mixed sounds of both mers and the two men on the deck echoed off the walls too well.

The man who had dove down grabbed a long pole, using it to fend Barnaby back off towards the water.

Barnaby bared his fangs and bit the pole hard; anger strong in his eyes as he became very aggressive. He did enough damage to bend the pole, but not breaking it to his disappointment. His hissing and screeching intensified as he slashed at everyone who was on the deck in an effort to free his mate.

The man pushed Barnaby with the first pole and took a second one, hitting him with it to get him to back down.

With all his fighting back, Barnaby was still pushed into the water with one final screech before his mate was taken away from him.

Kotetsu was dumped into a transfer tank and a lid was locked in place so he could be wheeled away. But not quietly He cried out, scratching at the thick glass. As he gasped for breath in the stagnant water. It was cold water, straight from a hose without any proper treatment to create the proper balances for any aquatic life. It hurt as his gills flailed in desperation to get more oxygen from the lifeless water. The lid also prevented him from surfacing for air, and he began to panic, fearing he'd drown; especially when there was no sault which made him keep sinking to the bottom. He hadn't known water could be so dead.

Maverick stepped back out on the deck, "Oh come now, it's only until this mating season nonsense is over. Can't keep the exhibit closed for you two to put on an inappropriate show."

Barnaby jumped back on to the deck and grabbed Maverick's leg, shaking and pulling on it to get him to fall. The thought crossed his mind to bite, but Barnaby knew he get hurt trying to do so.

"Get your slimy hands off me." He kicked Barnaby across his face.

The mer slammed into the nearby wall with a sharp cry. He whimpered, not at the physical pain, but at the emotional pain of being separated from his mate. He couldn't bring himself to move, arms and hair hiding his face from anyone on the deck.

Kotetsu hit at the glass, wanting to go to his mate.

Barnaby managed to look up at Kotetsu with a pained expression. His anger was rekindled all over again, and he lunged himself at Maverick once more, digging his teeth into the man's leg. He shook his head around with the tight grip of his teeth only tightening. He wanted his mate back, and he would fight as long and as much as he needed to.

Once the man was down, Barnaby shrieked and hissed at him, also scratching and biting hard to free his mate. Any other person who tried to push Barnaby away was attacked by the mer’s tail, its sharp fins cutting into skin.

The mer was covered in blood, and spilling more. Shrieks echoed through the exhibit, catching the attention of Ben and Saito who came running.

Ben stopped short just inside the gate, taking in the bloody scene.

"Barnaby! Hey, hey easy, boy. Calm down—stop hitting him!" he tried to calm the mer and get the men to back off.

Barnaby screeched at Ben with a pained look. He just wanted his mate back, and once Kotetsu was back with him, he’d stop fighting back.

Ben stooped down and held out a hand towards the mer, "It's me. Calm down, we'll work this out. Please let my boss go."

Behind him, Saito moved over to the holding tank to try and calm the trapped mer, worried more for the way the wild mer seemed to be suffocating.

Barnaby let Maverick go quickly and screeched again at Ben, sounding more like he was scared and worried than focused on attacking. He crawled closer to the man desperately, begging him to free his mate.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, we'll sort this out. Please go back to the water." Ben said, petting his hair.

The mer stared at Ben for a bit, then at Kotetsu before finally retreating back to the water with a pained cry.

Maverick slowly got up with the help of his men, his leg bleeding badly. “Damn fish…”

"I warned you that nothing good would come from separating these two. Please, sir, allow us to return Kotetsu to the exhibit. We'll talk to them about hiding their mating sessions."

“And why would I do that? Barnaby nearly tore my leg off just now, so what’s stopping me from selling both of them to a slaughter house?!” Maverick was fuming, and everyone around, even the two mers, felt that the conversation was on rocky ground.

"Money." Saito said flatly. "You make more money off them here than you do any other exhibit. Mers are rare. Selling them will lose this center—and yourself—a lot of revenue."

"He attacked out of self defense of himself and his companion. It wasn't a malicious attack, sir." Ben added.

Maverick paused as he caught his breath and squeezed his leg. Knowing he was in too much pain to oppose he scoffed and waved his hand. “Put the damn thing back in the tank, for God’s sake. Make sure they don’t display such animalistic actions again!” With that, he hobbled off with the help of his men, leaving Saito and Ben with the job of dumping Kotetsu back into the tank with his mate.

The holding tank was brought back to the water's edge and opened to have Kotetsu eased back into the water. Kotetsu wasted no time, rope still about his tail, as he rushed to his mate, clicking worriedly over his injuries.

Ben wheeled the holding tank way and out of sight before returning and crouching by the water, "Come here, and let's look at the damage."

Barnaby rose to the surface once more, a little more cautious and holding Kotetsu tight. The side of his head was sporting a rather long cut from being kicked and slammed against the wall. It bled less then would have been expected, so it wasn’t a huge injury to worry over. There were other cuts and bruises all over his torso and tail, but the biggest injury was on his ribs, which was visibly bruised and the bones slightly out of place.

"Come sit up here so we can take a look and help you heal. Saito, please go get the medical kit from our lab."

Kotetsu whimpered, holding his mate and Ben smiled gently, "Don't worry, we'll fix him up so he won't hurt anymore. And if you'll show me your tail, I'll take the rope off."

Kotetsu tilted his head, confused.

“Show him your tail,” Barnaby translated while Saito left. He moved to heave himself up on the deck, but quickly discovered his injuries prevented him from doing so. He whimpered painfully.

"Bunny!" Kotetsu caught Barnaby, holding onto him.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” Barnaby nuzzled Kotetsu’s cheek lightly, though he didn’t attempt getting back up on the deck on his own.

When Saito came back, he and Ben both helped the injured mer get onto the deck, then they dressed his wounds until they got to his ribs.

Kotetsu sat next to his mate, wanting to help but not knowing these ways of healing. He was used to using sea plants and creatures to heal injuries, of which were not entirely available to them in the tank. Saito had also removed the rope from his tail and applied a salve to the irritated scales, wrapping them and telling him to let it dry before getting back in the water. Which Barnaby translated for his mate.

Barnaby’s ribs were bound tightly in a way that the bones would stay still and heal properly. He was told it was best not to engage in too much movement, but being a mer, that was almost impossible. The two humans only hoped that Barnaby would listen and not move around too much.

Barnaby remained on the deck when Kotetsu was allowed to go back in the water. He looked longingly at the watery home he had known for years, thinking that maybe this place wasn’t that safe after all. The humans still attacked them, well, some did, and they were treated poorly by those who attacked. Why was this place any safer if both mers were still attacked?

Kotetsu swam to their cave and started situating things, making a comfortable area for his mate to nest while healing up before he returned to the deck. His tail where the rope had rubbed so roughly against his scales hurt a bit, but he ignored it as he took Barnaby into his arms, carrying him like a child mer down to the nest within the cave and settling him in.

"They said not to move too much so stay here. I'll catch you fish when it's feeding time." He said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Kisses seemed addictive to him.

Barnaby sighed and closed his eyes. “Stupid human crushed my ribs. It hurts too.” He opened his eyes again and reached out to take Kotetsu’s hand. “Ben said my insides weren’t damaged, but it still hurts to breathe.”

"I'll take care of you until you heal—that land dweller won't come close to you again."

“I hope the healing is fast. I don’t want to be stuck in the cave forever.” He relaxed against the sand and attempted to sleep some. “Kotetsu… thank you.”

"I love you. Just rest and heal up. Let me take care of you." He kissed him again, "…Thank you for coming to my rescue."

* * *

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

The time of mating season came to an end a few long weeks later. Maverick had let Kotetsu stay in the tank with Barnaby, thinking that the two wouldn’t perform any inappropriate acts with their injuries. Despite being grounded for a while, Barnaby healed up mostly in those few weeks left in the season. He was back to swimming and dancing around with his mate in little time.

The summer heat had begun to cool off as autumn swept in, urging the trees to change colors. But the leaves weren't the only color change with the new season. Each day, Kotetsu's scales darkened. Light green to a dark almost black. He also began eating more fish each day. At first, he didn’t notice the changes, but it hit him one day as he caught his tenth fish at the midday feeding. His eyes widened as he mentally counted how many he'd had, and he looked back at his tail.

Barnaby was off in the corner of the tank, hunting down two fish which were determined not to be caught by the mer. The changes in Kotetsu’s appearance hadn’t been noticed by the younger mer, so Barnaby wasn’t paying much attention to his mate when he started to freak out slightly.

Kotetsu gobbled down his catch and turned, streaking towards Barnaby where he wrapped his arms around his waist, catching him and distracting him from the two cornered fish.

Barnaby jumped a little, squeaking in surprise as he turned to face Kotetsu. He smiled and nuzzled the other mer.  "Kotetsu, what's wrong? Did you get spooked by something?"

"I noticed something."

"You noticed something?" The mer was slightly confused as he looked over Kotetsu. After a bit, his eyes widened and settled on Kotetsu's considerably darker scales. "Wait!"

Kotetsu nodded, "Looks like we were successful."

"Kotetsu...I don't know how to feel." Barnaby swallowed and wrapped his arms around Kotetsu, despite his uncertain comment.

"Too late to turn back now…"

"I know." He hugged Kotetsu tighter and smiled. "I guess we should start preparing for pups, then."

Kotetsu nodded, "And to keep away from the alpha man."

"The cave is our safest place. We should build up a nest in there, add to the one you built for me." Barnaby nuzzled Kotetsu's neck and kissed it lightly.

Kotetsu nodded, "No more naps outside the cave until our son is born."

"All sleeping will be done in the cave from now on." He pulled back and smiled at Kotetsu. "I love you, Kotetsu."

Kotetsu smiled and took it as an invitation to kiss his mate on the lips. The human show of affection still fascinated him and gave him a thrill each time he and Barnaby shared one.

After the kiss, Barnaby's eyes lit up more. "When should we tell Ben? He has to know sometime. We can't just wait until you're ready to pop."

"If you want to tonight when he comes back for evening feeding time?"

"Sounds good to me." Barnaby kissed Kotetsu again with a smile.

"Are you okay with this?"

"After I've been thinking about it, yes, I am. I think that after 24 years of living, I'm ready for the next step in life."

"Good." Kotetsu purred. Barnaby smiled and purred with Kotetsu.

 

* * *

 

Later that day, Ben came by with their evening meal, letting the fish go and starting to leave before Barnaby reached up and pulled on his pant leg. The man stopped and turned to Barnaby, seeing that Kotetsu was right by him, and then smiled. "What is it? Need something to write with?"

Barnaby nodded as he hugged Kotetsu. They watched Ben leave to get the marker board, and Barnaby clicked happily as he took the board and began writing. He showed Ben what he had written.

Ben read over what Barnaby had written, and he played slightly. "...Are you serious? You two really are having a pup?"

Barnaby nodded slowly with a smile.

Kotetsu nodded along, assuming the man had guessed correctly. He then hoisted himself up onto the deck to display his tail; showing off the changes.

"Wow, your scales really did change. I don't know why I didn't notice it before." Ben smiled and chuckled. "Well, I guess I should be congratulating you two."

Barnaby slapped his tail on the surface of the water before translating for Kotetsu.

Kotetsu clicked happily and slipped back into the water, cuddling close to Barnaby and winding around him affectionately.

"So how long is the pregnancy? How many babies are we expecting?"

Barnaby wrote down the answers, explaining that they would only have boys because of their gender. More conversing was to be had before Ben was satisfied, and he left to go talk to Saito about the new excitement in the tank.

Together, the two mers went back down to the sands and cuddled each other. "Your stripes really make you look like a tiger now," Barnaby commented.

"Tiger shark?" Kotetsu asked, tilting his head.

"No, an actual tiger. They walk on four feet and are covered in fur. They have rounder ears, and a long, thin tail. Black stripes cover their backs and faces."

"I can't imagine such a creature…what is fur?"

“It’s kind of like hair… but it’s thicker and shorter in some cases. It covers a whole tiger’s body.” Barnaby really didn’t know how to explain it very well, but he tried his best.

"Sounds funny…."

“Sorry, it’d be better if I could show you a picture.”

"Are they friendly?"

“Ah, I think so. At least when they’re happy. I don’t know much about them other than what they look like, and that they have fur.”

"I want to see one."

“I can probably get Ben to find a picture of one…”

"Picture?"

“Ah… a picture… like a real life thing, just captured?” Barnaby shook his head in frustration. “Never mind. I’ll just have Ben show you what a tiger is later.”

"…The real thing captured…so I'm a picture?"

“No, it’s…. oh! It’s like a drawing. A real life drawing!”

"Aren't all drawings real?"

“Yes… no? A picture is like a realistic drawing.”

Kotetsu sighed, "I guess I just don't understand."

“It’s hard to explain human things. I’m having just as much trouble as you.” Barnaby shook his head and wrapped his arms around Kotetsu. “But it’s not really that important to know what a picture is. What’s important is that we start gathering things for our nest.”

Kotetsu nodded. Normally mers would nest closer to birthing, but their plants were limited and it would take longer to collect as they had to wait for more to grow. "And eat…" He added, eyeing a fish that swam by.

“Yes, because you pulled me away from my food earlier.” Barnaby caught the fish Kotetsu was eyeing and handed it to his mate. “But you need the food more than I do. So you can have my fish.”

"That was hours ago." Kotetsu chuckled, kissing his lover before eating on the fish.

“Well I’m still hungry!” Barnaby chuckled and swam off to catch a few fish of his own.

"You still could have eaten." Kotetsu said, taking chase of another fish.

“I was clearly distracted.”

"I can't imagine why." Kotetsu joked.

“At least I’m excited. You could have easily ended up with an angry mate.” Barnaby swam back around to Kotetsu and nuzzled his stomach quickly, swimming away just as quick.

"Impossible. It's in our nature to love our pups."

“I guarantee you I’ll love our pups!”

"I know."

The two mers spent the rest of the evening chasing fish and each other until they tired themselves out, retiring to the cave and curling around each other until they fell asleep peacefully.

 

* * *

 

A few months passed and Kotetsu had indeed begun to grow larger in his middle, his belly looking very much like a human woman's pregnant belly. He also couldn't seem to swim as quickly, making it harder for him to catch his own fish and explaining to the scientists why his markings grew darker to help camouflage. It helped him hide when normally he'd try to swim away. And he used it, every time he saw Maverick approach.

One day, the two mers spotted Ben and Saito wheeling a strange machine up onto the closed in deck and setting it up near the water. The thing made Kotetsu nervous and he stayed down in the weeds, letting his mate make sure it was safe.

Barnaby was curious about the machine, so he went to the surface to get a better look. It didn't look like anything he had seen before, so it made him a little wary of approaching it. He clicked to get the attention of Ben.

Ben looked over his shoulder and smiled, "Hey Barnaby. Where's Kotetsu?"

Barnaby pointed down at the weeds, then as the strange machine, chattering away nervously.

"We brought this for Kotetsu and your pups." Ben explained, stooping down and showing him the wand. "We put this on his belly and on that," he pointed to the screen, "We'll see the pup inside him to see how he is growing. We can make sure he's healthy that way."

Barnaby still looked wary of it, though it sounded safe. Still, he wasn't so sure it was a good idea. He backed away slightly and sank to where his eyes were just above the water.

"You can look at it if you are unsure. We use these things on our own pregnant women. It's safe." He held out the wand.

The mer shook his head, creating ripples. He dove back under and swam to his mate. "They want to use that thing to look at the pup inside you... I don't know how that works though."

Kotetsu's eyes widened, "Cut me open? No!"

"No, no! They won't cut you open. They use this remote thing and rub it across your belly, and somehow it's projected onto the screen they have... I don't know, it looked safe somewhat."

Kotetsu looked unsure, sinking into the weeds more, "I'll go up if you say it's safe, but if it hurts I will probably bite and run back down here."

"It's Ben, so I don't think it'll be harmful." Barnaby took his mate's hand and pulled him up to the surface.

Kotetsu poked his head out nervously and Ben smiled at him, "Good afternoon, Kotetsu. How about you lay on the deck? You can stay close to the water and Barnaby can hold your hand if you are nervous."

The mer looked at his mate.

"Go lay on the deck," Barnaby translated, moving closer to the deck to help his mate.

Kotetsu did as Barnaby instructed, lying close to the water for a quick escape route, and eyeing the humans as they got ready.

Saito brought over a jar of goop, explaining he was going to put it on Kotetsu's belly, and Barnaby translated it. Once the goop was on, Ben handed Saito the wand and flipped on the machine. Saito pressed the wand to Kotetsu's belly and moved it around until they found his womb and what was growing inside. Three forms just beginning to look like mers appeared with three heartbeats.

Ben smiled, "They look like they are growing quite quickly."

Barnaby was transfixed by the image on the screen. He could bring himself to look away at the slightly grainy pictures of his pups. The machine was still a mystery to him, but he couldn't help but smile slightly. He clicked happily.

"Three of them it looks like. You'll have your hands full soon."

Kotetsu blinked and put a hand on his goo-covered belly, looking at the wiggling pups on the screen. That was what he looked like inside?

Barnaby whistled and nuzzled Kotetsu’s cheek. “Three pups. You said only potent mates could produce a large litter, though. This was only my first time.”

"Obviously you were potent this season." Kotetsu said, twisting to pull Barnaby closer so he could kiss along his neck.

“I guess so…” Barnaby purred at the kisses, even giving some of his own. “But three pups. We have to come up with names for them all.”

"It's easy. We get to narrow things down to three instead of two or one." Kotetsu chuckled.

“I’m nervous. I might hurt one of them on accident or call them by the wrong name…”

"You won't. I didn't when my daughter was born. And the boys will likely have the same faces but not coloring. Skin, scales, hair, eyes….these will be a mix between us."

“So weird… yet fascinating.” Barnaby shrugged with a smile. “I can’t wait to have them swimming around with us.”

"The time will pass quickly." Before you know it, they will be out in the water curious and in need of protection."

“Let’s hope it goes by fast.” Barnaby hugged Kotetsu without hurting him and chattered away saying many wonderful things about the pups and their future.

Ben chuckled, "Think they are excited to be parents?"

“I would certainly hope so,” Saito replied. “They’ll need to take good care of their young, especially around Maverick. I don’t think he’s too happy about the pups.”

"I more worry about his plans for the pups. The pups need to stay with Barnaby and Kotetsu…"

“He’s going to try to take them away as soon as he can. If Kotetsu gives birth above water, no doubt Maverick will try to take away the pups as soon as they’re born.”

"We'll make sure that doesn’t happen. The pups likely need their parents to survive until they grow up a little. We can use that to keep him at bay in the beginning."

“Once they’re older, they can hide in the weeds down there at the bottom of the tank. I’m sure Barnaby and Kotetsu will help them. No doubt they’ll be a lot more defensive.”

"Even we will likely have to approach carefully when the pups are out and playing. Mers can be dangerous. There's a reason they are in the same tank as sharks."

Saito nodded in agreement, turning off the machine and putting everything back in its place before starting to wheel it away from the tank.

 

* * *

 

The colder months passed by with Kotetsu's urge to nest growing stronger as he and Barnaby built their family's nest up, sleeping in it each night until the warmer months swept in with spring.

It happened in the night. Kotetsu waking his mate up with moans of discomfort and wiggling. Barnaby was unsure on how to help, but it wasn't long before their first son was in his hands. Tiny, smaller than a human newborn and just a little bigger than his hand. He had big green eyes and a pink tail, but dark hair. Kotetsu coached Barnaby to lay the pup down in their nest and get ready for the next pup.

The second pup had golden eyes, blond hair, and a pink tail, and the third pup came out with green eyes, blond hair, and a green tail. The three brothers were eager to curl up together between their parents for warmth, hugging each other close.

Kotetsu, exhausted from birthing the three, smiled down at the pups, reaching over to take Barnaby's hand. "Our pups are beautiful."

“Yes they are. I’m so happy right now.” Barnaby smiled wide as he squeezed his mate’s hand.

"Have you thought of names?"

“Well… I’ve been thinking of humans names, because those are the only ones I know. I didn’t know if you wanted human or mer names. Or both.”

"Humans are part of your life. Our pups are both of ours. If there is a human name you really like then we can use it. I just…may not know how to say it properly. I know I say Bunny wrong…"

“You try… I’ll pick an easy one.” Barnaby thought about it for a little bit, then a name came to him. “Brooks.”

"Boo-k?" Kotetsu said slowly.

“Brooks,” Barnaby repeated.

"Ber-rocks?"

“Brooks,” he said slower with a smile.

"Broo-k?"

“Closer. Brooks.”

"Brook?"

“Brook… well that’s very close. Add the ‘s’ sound at the end of Brook.”

"Is Brook a name?" Kotetsu asked.

“It is. Would you rather it just be Brook?”

Kotetsu nodded and looked down at their litter, "This one is Brook." He said, pointing to their oldest.

The small mer with dark hair made a noise that was slightly like a whimper, holding onto his brothers tight.

“Brook…” Barnaby smiled at his oldest of the three. “So what about the others?”

"How about… Hiro?"

“Hiro, I like it. Hiro is this one.” He pointed to the pup with the blond hair and pink tail like himself.

Kotetsu nodded and his gaze moved to the youngest who was the only one to have green scales like him. He chuckled, "Tiger."

Barnaby chuckled as well as he pulled his mate closer to him and kissed him. "Brook, Hiro, and Tiger. Our beautiful pups."

Kotetsu kissed his mate back, purring gently. It was a happy purr, but also one meant as a lullaby to the pups to calm them and help them relax in this new world they were in.

The new family slept through the night peacefully without any trouble. Even the pups seemed to be relaxed enough to sleep until the warm morning sun shone upon the tank.

* * *

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

Ben and Saito went to the deck as normal and released the fish that would be eaten into the tank. They watched for a bit, and they were a little surprised that Barnaby and Kotetsu did not come out to hunt right away. After a few more minutes though, Barnaby came out of the cave and swam around to catch some of the fish. He paid no attention to the two scientists watching him, and he quickly returned to the cave to give some of the fish to his mate.

Ben frowned in thought, "What do you think that is about?" he asked his partner.

“Perhaps the pups have arrived? Or soon to arrive?” Saito shrugged as he watched the mer disappear into the cave.

"I wonder what they look like. Barnaby was the youngest ever found and he was estimated to be about four years old."

“He was still pretty small back then. But I don’t think we’ll get to see the pups for a while, as much as we’d like to see them soon. I wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of Barnaby or Kotetsu.” The scientists didn't have cameras set up in the cave so all their recordings were of outside the tank and some above at the deck.

"Their instinct to protect their litter is probably very high, and even friends should be weary." Ben agreed with a sigh.

“So I guess we play the waiting game. I wonder how long it’ll actually be until we get our first look at the pups…”

"We have our cameras. They don't look in the cave but we can see when the little pups are ready to leave and swim around."

“Which I’m guessing shouldn’t be too long. Most aquatic animals start swimming as soon as their born, so maybe the mers have that advantage to them. It’ll just take longer for them to swim because they have human qualities to them as well.”

"We'll keep a close eye on them and try to talk to Barnaby and Kotetsu if they come up to the surface."

 

* * *

 

It was just about three weeks when Barnaby and Kotetsu finally emerged from the cave together. Barnaby was quick to get out, swimming around like he was dancing for a crowd. He couldn’t help but chatter excitedly as his mate, and then eventually the pups, came out of the cave.

The pups weren't strong swimmers and seemed to have difficulty using their body to guide them where they wanted to go so Kotetsu lingered around them to help them when they got stuck going in circles or trapped by rock or coral, unknowing how to back up. Kotetsu's scales had begun to fade back to their normal coloring, but still had the hint of richness from his pregnancy glittering in the sunlight that filtered down through the waters.

Tiger got stuck on a rock and he chuckled, moving over to the youngest triplet and guiding him up and over so he could join his brothers in a more open area of the tank.

Barnaby was acting much like he did when he was younger, doing so many flips and being excited over the smallest things. The whole family was entertaining to watch, even Ben and Saito were laughing at some of the things the mers were doing.

The pups were mainly rounded up into an area that put them close to each other. Their parents certainly didn’t want anything happening to them.

Hiro sped up, wanting to go fast until he bumped into the glass, which confused him and he blinked his big eyes at it, touching it with his tiny hands.

“Careful, Hiro. You’re supposed to avoid hitting the glass.” Barnaby smiled as he guided his pup back to the others, who clung to their brother instinctively. Their father moved closer to Kotetsu and nuzzled him gently.

The pups couldn't quite speak yet, but they all seemed to understand each other as Hiro began to coo out his story of bumping into something he couldn't see, waving his arms up and down as he did so.

“He likes to talk a lot,” Barnaby said as he hugged Kotetsu. “I’ve heard him babble on more than the others.”

"He also likes to explore and wander off. We'll have to keep a close eye on him."

“He’s an adventurer for sure. He’ll be wanting to explore more as he gets older.” Barnaby ran a finger gently over Hiro’s back with a smile.

Hiro leaned back to look at his father, leaning too far as his tail swished, causing him to do a backflip.

Kotetsu chuckled at the surprised look on the middle triplet's face.

“Leaned back a little too far, did you?” Barnaby chuckled and ran his finger over Hiro’s back again.

Hiro chirped and wiggled his way over to his father, purring as he snuggled into him.

The much larger mer chuckled as he held Hiro close. “You’re a little ball of energy, aren’t you?”

Hiro yipped and hurried back to his brothers, wanting to get them to explore more outside the cave with him.

The three brothers chattered away at each other and went off to explore, their parents right behind them to watch over them.

 

* * *

 

Ben and Saito watched with great interest as the family explored the tank together. “The pups are so small, but they move quite well for only just beginning to learn,” Ben commented.

"The smallest one seems to have the most trouble," Saito nodded, watching as Tiger got stuck again; tangled in weeds and Kotetsu worked to get him out.

“I hope he makes it… It would be a shame if one of them were to grow too weak.” Ben shook his head. “I should think that wouldn’t happen though. Those pups have very caring and responsible parents.”

"And less dangers than in the wild."

“We have our own dangers here that we need to worry about. Specifically Maverick.”

Saito sighed and nodded, "I'm sure he's cooking up a plan that will upset our mer family."

“I hope Barnaby and Kotetsu will be strong enough to fight back. It seems that Maverick has somehow managed to hurt them in some way.”

"He hasn't come back since Barnaby bit him, though."

“Barnaby still got injured. Either Maverick is smart by staying away, or he’s planning something big that we won’t be able to stop.” Ben sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"If that's the case…I'm afraid there is only one safe place for them…"

Ben looked at Saito, curious but thinking he knew where the smaller man meant.

"…The ocean." The answer was whispered.

The center and all the animals in it were owned by Maverick, and that included the five mers in the main tank. To take them out and set them free would be stealing and forfeiting their jobs and reputations. They would be wanted men, unable to return. The consequences were clear to both scientists, and it was a choice they had to make with care.

And if they chose to go through with freeing the mers…they had a lot of planning to do to ensure it would succeed. The family of five making it safely to their freedom before the plot was found out.

“We have to set them free, as much as I hate to do it. We’ve gotten to know Barnaby and Kotetsu so well. If we set them free, we won’t get to see them every day like we have been.” Ben shook his head as he watched the mers swim around happily. He thought for a minute, going over the consequences. “I won’t care to work here anymore after we set them free. If we get fired, I’ll be okay with that. At least we’d be able to actually attempt to go see them all the time.”

"We could be arrested." Saito pointed out.

“For trying to set a wild species free back to its home? Surely we can argue it’s for a good cause. I mean, yeah, Barnaby and Kotetsu are both happy here with their pups, but they’d be much safer when they’re not around Maverick. The man has a bad reputation…”

"He still owns them, and we can't afford to buy them. You know he always gets out of trouble. Animal abuse and cruelty? He's faced those charges before and got out with only a fine he could pay in his sleep.

“But there has to be a way to get him framed. What about all those people who saw him try to take Kotetsu out of the tank? They all saw the mers get injured. They heard the shrieks. If we can find all those people, maybe we can rally up against him and force the center to free the mers.”

Saito sighed, exhaling through his lips and closed his eyes, "If we are to do this we should build our case before we take our final action." He turned and looked at the screen, "They will have to wait a bit longer to be free."

“Maybe it’s for the best. The pups should grow a little more before they’re ready to face the ocean.”

"They weren't born in the ocean, as much as we try to make this tank like the ocean, it's never going to be the same. It'll be completely new to Barnaby and the pups."

“Kotetsu will help them, and so will the daughter he has back at his home. They’ll be surrounded by mers who will help them…” As good as it sounded to Ben, he was sad to let the mer family go. They had a soft spot in his heart, so letting them go would certainly be hard.

"I do feel bad that he was taken from his family in the wild…" Saito shook his head, "We were both blinded by greed when we bought him for the exhibit. But he was stolen away from his home. Barnaby had been orphaned when he was discovered. We saved him by bringing him here. But Kotetsu's another story. It's time we make things right—and release Barnaby back where he belongs. We know he'll be okay now. He'll be with his own kind."

“Yes…” Ben took a shaky breath as he stood. “Well, I suppose we better get to work on our case then.”

"…It'll be a hard goodbye…but one that we need to make."

“It’s the best we can do for them.”

 

* * *

 

Tiger was stuck in the weeds again. He liked the soft feel of them, but they tangled so easily, and he let out a call of distress, gaining the attention of Kotetsu who, once again, rushed to untangle the smallest pup. He pulled him up into his arms, "Why do you keep going into the weeds when you get stuck every time?"

“A sense of protection maybe,” Barnaby called from where the other two pups were. “Did you ever do something like that? Trying to learn your hiding skills?”

"Hiding wasn't really my thing." Kotetsu said, swimming over to his mate with Tiger still in his arms, "But I guess that's what got me caught by humans. I hadn't been alone when I was caught. I had been with a few others. They weren't seen or caught."

“Who were you with? Your daughter?”

"No, my brother Muramasa and my best friend Antonio."

“Antonio sounds like a human name. I saw a little kid once here, and his mom called him Antonio.” Barnaby shrugged and scooped up the other two pups into his arms.

"He came from another part of the ocean." Kotetsu shrugged as Tiger wiggled around in his arms.

“Probably near a coast or something.” Barnaby shrugged and leaned over to kiss Kotetsu. “Anyways, I was thinking about showing the pups to Ben up close.”

Kotetsu looked up, "…Looks like he's here to release lunch. We can go up now before he leaves again."

“Sounds good to me.” Barnaby swam up to the surface with Brook and Hiro in his arms.

Kotetsu followed with Tiger, the triplets' faces breaking the surface for the first time and all three of them shaking their heads as water droplets rolled down their cheeks.

Barnaby couldn’t help but chuckle a little as the pups tried to dry themselves.

Ben looked surprised, but a smile spread across his face as he watched the mer family. “Well hello there. Didn’t expect you guys to come to the surface anytime soon. Come to introduce the pups?”

Barnaby nodded and whistled happily. He made a motion for the marker board, which Ben grabbed and handed to the mer after he had transferred the pups into Kotetsu’s arms. Barnaby wrote Brook’s name, pointing out which one he was, then did the same with Hiro and Tiger.

"Brooks, Hiro, and Tiger, hu?" Ben laughed.

At the sound of the laugh, the three boys who had been starting to play in Kotetsu's arms looked up, blinking curiously at the new sound and the creature that made it.

Barnaby nodded and nuzzled his mate, then his three pups.

"You must be very proud. They are all adorable." Ben smiled, petting Barnaby's hair.

The mer whistled in agreement.

Ben rolled up his pants above the knee and took off his shoes and socks before sitting on the edge of the dock, feet in the water. "May I see them closer?"

The two adult mers were a bit hesitant, but Barnaby trusted Ben enough to let him hold one of them. He scooped Brook into his arms and carefully handed the pup to Ben. Barnaby took Hiro into his arms.

Ben smiled, "Hey there, Brook. I'm Ben."

Brook tilted his tiny head, scrunching up his face before sending a small jet of water squirting into Ben's face, which made all three merbabies giggle.

Barnaby tried hard to contain his laughing, but he was failing hard. He did manage to click at Brook to tell him that was a naughty thing to do.

"Ahh?" Brook looked confused. The man holding him was dry and obviously needed to be hydrated.

“He’s not a mer like us,” Barnaby explained to his pup. “He needs to be dry to live because he lives on land, not water.”

Ben just wiped the water from his face with a smile.

Brook waved his arms like he was trying to splash, though he was above the water.

“I’m not meant to be wet all the time, Brook,” Ben said with a chuckle.

Barnaby nodded and whistled in agreement, then switched Brook with Hiro.

Hiro looked up at the now wet scientist and reached his hands up, curious. His tail moving trying to swim closer.

Ben moved a finger closer to Hiro’s small hands so the pup would have something to grab. “This is Hiro, correct?”

Barnaby nodded again.

Hiro grabbed onto the finger, examining it and sniffing it.

“You’re a curious little guy, aren’t you, Hiro?” Ben chuckled and moved his hand to tickle the pup gently.

The pup giggled, wiggling around.

Finally, Hiro was switched out of Ben’s arms and replaced by Tiger; the smallest pup. Ben noticed this, and was sure to hold the smaller pup more carefully. “And this is Tiger. He’s so small, but I bet he has a big heart.” The man gently rubbed his finger on Tiger’s cheek.

Tiger seemed shy, curling up and grabbing the fin of his tail, hiding part of his face with it as he looked up at Ben with big green eyes.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you, little guy. I’m a friend.” He stroked the soft hair atop Tiger’s head with a gentle smile. “Your daddy wouldn’t trust me if I wasn’t a friend.”

Barnaby moved closer and cooed at Tiger to soothe him.

Tiger seemed to relax more with one of his parents near, and he held onto his father's pinky for security before uncurling himself.

“I know you and Kotetsu are good parents… but I worry for this one.” Ben sighed as he stroked Tiger’s cheek more.

Barnaby looked at Ben confused, to which he only received a slow shake of the head.

Tiger blinked at his father, thumb in his mouth.

Kotetsu swam closer, "What did Ben say?"

“He’s worried about Tiger…” Barnaby swallowed and took Tiger from Ben, handing him to Kotetsu gently, taking Brook and Hiro into his own arms. “Maybe because he’s so small?”

"He's small, yes…" Kotetsu cuddled him, "He'll grow stronger. I did. I was much smaller than my brother."

“I hope so.” Barnaby nuzzled Tiger gently before turning back to Ben and smiling.

"He'll be behind his brothers at first, but he'll catch up." Kotetsu said, nuzzling Tiger and making him giggle.

“He’ll be the strongest out of the three.” Barnaby chuckled as the other pups began to giggle.

Hiro and Brook reached out to their little brother. Kotetsu chuckled and lowered Tiger into the water, "You three can play but stay close to daddy and I."

Barnaby put Brook and Hiro back into the water and watched them swim off a little ways and chase each other around.

Kotetsu smiled, watching them a moment before looking back at Barnaby and Ben.

Ben sighed, "…Can you keep a secret?"

Barnaby nodded as he looked back to Ben.

"Saito and I don't trust Maverick at all now that the pups are born. We want to protect you and them from him…and there is only one way to do that."

The mer tilted his head in slight confusion, then looked back at Kotetsu as if he knew what was going on.

"Barnaby…we are thinking of taking you all to the ocean."

Barnaby made a really loud noise of surprise, so loud that it echoed off the walls. His eyes were wide as he looked at Ben. He didn’t know how to feel about going to the ocean since he had no memory of it. It scared him, if anything.

Kotetsu looked at him, grabbing his hand.

"Barnaby, I know that it sounds scary, but that’s why I'm telling you now. It won't be for a while as we need to ready it in secret, but it's for the safety of your pups. You'll have Kotetsu to help you out there."

The mer looked down at his hands, then up at Kotetsu. “We… we’re going… to the ocean soon.” He swallowed hard, not sure if he was seeing spots or not.

"Home?" Kotetsu blinked in surprise.

“I think… we’re going back to where you were found. I don’t know. Kotetsu, I’m afraid. I don’t think can do it.” He whined a little, his eyes still very wide.

"Why are they?" Kotetsu moved closer, taking Barnaby into his arms.

“Because of the scary man. Ben doesn’t trust him around the pups, and I don’t either but…” He shook his head and clung to Kotetsu tightly.

"The ocean isn't a bad place…it's like the tank…but bigger."

“I’m afraid… I’ll remember…”

"Remember?"

“My parents…” Barnaby buried his face in Kotetsu’s shoulder. All his life, he had lived in that tank and pondered over what really had happened to his parents. As far as he knew, both parents were healthy and loving, then his memories ended there and started again with himself half dead and parents unresponsive to his desperate cries.

In reality, Barnaby was not afraid of the ocean, but of what happened in the ocean that left a gap in his memory that he had shied away from for 20 years.

"They loved you, Bunny. I know they did. Just as you love our pups." Kotetsu soothed, petting him.

“I remember they loved me so much… But suddenly they were dead. I don’t want to know…”

"If you remember, I'm here for you, Bunny."

“I don’t want to remember. It’ll hurt too much.”

Kotetsu got a sad look in his eye as he just held Barnaby close.

Barnaby received a few pets on the head from Ben, the man’s slow hand calming him gradually, as did Kotetsu holding him.

A long few moments passed before suddenly the sound of the triplets playing and splashing was interrupted by a scared squeal and tiny hisses of protest. Ben and the new parents turned, finding Maverick had returned and was standing a bit back from the water's edge, a terrified Tiger within his grasp.

Kotetsu immediately flared his fins and began to hiss.

Barnaby screeched as his fins flared out. It was quite a menacing sight, and Ben was even scared as he tried to move out of the way to avoid being hurt. The enraged mer bared his fangs and clawed at the deck as he pulled himself up. He rushed Maverick at a frightening pace and kept hissing and screeching at the man.

But Maverick was quick not to make the mistake again at letting the mer get too close with his teeth, and he stepped behind a gate, closing it and blocking Barnaby's advances.

"Temper, temper. I'll have to put you down if you harm anyone again. I'm simply examining what the past few months have been about. This one is small…maybe I'll put it in my office tank to show off to visiting business partners."

Tiger cried out, reaching out for his father as Kotetsu gathered the other two up to hold them safely away from the deck.

Barnaby snarled and screeched again, ignoring Maverick’s warning. He shouldn’t be afraid of any threats the man made, but when he talked about taking Tiger and using him as a pet, Barnaby was angered even more, and at that point the mer was looking like he wouldn’t stop at anything in order to get his pup back.

"Sir, please stop. He will attack you again. Both parents are very protective of their pups. You have to know that this is a bad idea."

Maverick ignored Ben, looking down at Tiger and starting to poke his cheeks, pulling on them and scaring the poor pup even more.

With tears in his eyes, Tiger puffed up and then turned his head, biting down on Maverick's thumb. His needle-like teeth sinking deep into the flesh, tearing it as the man cried out and tried pulling his hand back. Tiger only bit down harder and snapped his head to the side; the bone in Maverick's thumb breaking with a sickening crunch before the entire half of his thumb tore away with a bloody mess.

Furious and in pain, Maverick chucked the pup, sending him flying towards the water, but he was not close enough and despite his parents rushing to catch him, the pup hit the cement deck before bouncing into the water again. Kotetsu dove down, taking Tiger into his arms, a look of pure horror and worry upon his face.

Barnaby shrieked in terror, then turned on Maverick once more, raising up on his tail to be taller and more menacing. He hissed and had his claws ready to attack Maverick.

"Sir! With all due respect, get out." Ben snapped at the injured man, "Security will take care of you, but your injuries will only be worse if you stay."

“I’m not afraid of him. He’s just overreacting a little.” Maverick pulled out a small tranquilizer gun from his suit jacket and cocked it.

Barnaby didn’t know that it was only a tranquilizer gun, so to him it looked real. He reared up at high as he could and slashed his claws out at Maverick.

There was a loud bang with the sound of the gun going off, and then a short screech as Barnaby was hit point blank with the tranquilizer. The barrel of the gun had been touching his skin, so despite the dart naturally having a harmless effect, the needle went in a little deep, and it drew blood. Barnaby collapsed onto the deck and curled up in defeat.

Kotetsu screeched, torn between going to his mate and holding his unconscious son while keeping the other two safe from the man. Brook and Hiro cried out for their fallen father and brother, their cries echoing off the walls of the glass dome around the deck.

“That should take care of you for a while…” Maverick looked at the spot where his thumb would have been and paled a little. “I’ll be back for that damned mer baby after I take care of my injury.”

Though Barnaby was down, he still managed to growl a little when Maverick said he’d return. He was furious, but the effects of the tranquilizer were kicking in, and slowly he felt his consciousness slip away as he fell into a deep sleep.

As soon as Maverick was gone Kotetsu rushed to the deck with Tiger. Brook and Hiro close behind as they followed, chirping their worries tearfully.

"Bunny! Bunny!" Kotetsu called out, then looked at Ben, holding out Tiger to him. He had removed the thumb from his son's mouth so the boy wouldn't choke, but he didn't know what more to do to help his pup.

Barnaby was out cold, and he showed no signs of waking up for a while. Knowing how desperate Kotetsu was to make sure his mate would be okay, Ben tried to soothe the mer by petting his hair. He knew that Kotetsu didn’t understand him, but he tried his best to communicate with him.

“He’ll be fine,” Ben said mainly to himself. He found the dart that had been shot into Barnaby, and decided it would be best to have Saito come to his aid and remove it. “Kotetsu, I’ll be right back… I’m taking Tiger with me so Saito can look over him.” He slowly backed away in case Kotetsu tried to attack, showing that the pup was safe with him.

Kotetsu looked nervous, but Ben was the one human he had learned to trust the most. And he wanted them to go back home to the ocean… He trusted the other, quieter scientist as well, but Ben the most. He decided he'd trust the man with his pup, and he allowed him to leave. He then pulled himself up onto the deck and over to his mate, pulling him into his arms and caressing his pale face.

"Bunny…"

Ben left to get Saito, explaining what had happened and showing him the pup, and bandaging his head after examining him for the extent of his injuries. Tiger was not seriously injured, but he had been given a concussion from hitting the deck hard with his head. He was carried carefully back to Kotetsu and placed in the mer’s arms once more. Saito got right to work removing the tranquilizer dart carefully without hurting Barnaby more. Soon the dart was removed, and it was all the man could do until Barnaby woke up.

Kotetsu looked up at him, clicking his worries. It was clear he was asking how his mate and son were. His other two sons were still tearfully watching at the edge of the deck; their fun and games having been ended when the scary man had suddenly grabbed their little brother from where they were splashing about.

Saito smiled at Kotetsu reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Both will be fine, just asleep for a while. Barnaby will be awake in about half an hour, then he can help protect Tiger.”

Kotetsu whined and then pointed back to the water.

“They can’t go back in the water quite yet.” Saito reached out and pet Kotetsu’s head. “Both will be able to once Barnaby is conscious again.”

Kotetsu then looked at Barnaby, then back at the water before slapping his tail against the hard deck.

Both men were silent, as they didn’t know what the mer wanted.

Slowly, Brook got a little brave and moved to the edge of the deck and reached out to touch his father. He made a tiny whistle with teary eyes, clearly worried over Barnaby.

Kotetsu held out Tiger for Ben to take, and he kissed Brook on the head before pulling himself to the water and diving down to the bottom, taking a handful of the soft white sand and resurfacing, holding out the sand to show that it was much softer than the deck.

“Oh, you think he’d be more comfortable down there?” Ben smiled and nodded. “I suppose that would be a better option than this deck.”

“It would be, considering Barnaby might be disoriented when he wakes up. Alright, he can stay under water.”

Kotetsu dropped the sand in the water and called for Brook to join him and Hiro back in the water. He didn't want him to be left behind on the deck.

Slowly and carefully, Barnaby was handed to Kotetsu in the water with Saito’s help.

Kotetsu took his mate and carried him down to their nest, placing him there before returning to take back Tiger.

The pup was handed to Kotetsu just as gently as Barnaby had been. “Take good care of them. Like I said, Barnaby should be awake in about half an hour. If Tiger doesn’t wake up in a couple hours, bring him back up and we’ll check over him again.” Saito stood up, as did Ben, and they headed back to their office with heavy hearts.

Kotetsu didn't know what they said but he looked at his other two sons, "Let's go wait for Daddy to wake up."

The family waited in the nest for Barnaby to awaken. It seemed like it took forever, but Hiro and Brook were perfectly content with curling up next to their sleeping brother and father. It took a little longer than half an hour, but finally Barnaby began to stir from his slumber, cracking his eyes open slightly.

"Bunny! Are—are you okay?" Kotetsu was at his side in an instant.

“Kotetsu…” Barnaby groaned as he sat up, being suddenly overwhelmed by hugs and tiny kisses by Brook and Hiro.

"We have been worried about you." Kotetsu said in a soft voice.

“Is he gone?”

"The man? For now." Kotetsu looked over at Tiger who was still curled up in a safe section of the nest, "…Tiger hasn't woken up yet…he's still alive, though…I keep checking."

“Good.” Barnaby moved closer to Tiger and placed a gentle kiss on the pup’s forehead. “Hopefully he wakes soon. Did Ben check him over?”

"I think so? He took Tiger someplace for a little bit. I can't understand them so I don't know for sure."

“As long as he was with Ben, he should have been okay.” The mer sighed and stroked Tiger’s cheek gently.

"I…Bunny, I don't know what he did to you, but after today…I don't think we can stay here."

“We’re not safe here anymore. We need to leave as soon as possible.”

"Especially for the boys' sakes." Kotetsu nodded, looking up and smiling at Hiro who was draped over Barnaby's head like a hat.

Barnaby looked up at Hiro as best as he could with a chuckle. "Whatcha doing up there, buddy?"

Hiro began to chirp, click, and purr as if telling a story.

"Uh huh. Oh really? Wow!" Barnaby acted like he knew exactly what the pup was saying, and really it was the cutest thing to see.

"Ada—nupnup chuu!" Hiro pointed to his little brother, "Da?"

"Tiger is sleeping. He should wake up soon though. But you shouldn't play rough with him right away. You might hurt him." Barnaby reached up and took Hiro into his arms, hugging him gently and lovingly.

"Kyaa ta-bruoo!" Hiro put his fingers up to his head making horns with his fingers and gnashing his teeth like a monster. Then he pointed up to the deck.

"Hey, easy now. That man is scary... But there's no need to portray him like that. We already know he's a monster. We're going to escape from him soon."

But Hiro stayed stubborn. He'd seen what the man did to Tiger and Daddy. He wasn't going to forgive him.

"He'll pay for what he did, don't worry. All you need to do is stay hidden now from him. You aren't big enough to fight yet." Barnaby stroked Hiro's hair with a smile.

"Brook, where are you going?" Kotetsu said, watching the oldest swim around outside the cave. "Come back here."

Brook looked up and picked up the starfish he had been watching and swam back, holding it up.

Barnaby smiled at Brook. "You've got a starfish. You know, if you make a wish while holding one, it's said that the wish usually comes true."

Brook looked up at him, then at his brother, and then back at his starfish. He then swam over to his brother and closed his eyes tight, wishing really hard that his brother would wake up soon and be okay to play with them again.

Barnaby smiled wider, knowing exactly what Brook had wished for. "I hope your wish comes true...."

The oldest triplet carefully set the starfish down and snuggled up next to his brother.

Hiro saw his brothers look comfortable, so he hurried to join them, quickly falling asleep.

Barnaby yawned and stretched a little before moving closer to Kotetsu. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Kotetsu shook his head, "I stayed in the water keeping the boys away from that man."

"Good. I'm glad you're safe." Barnaby purred and nuzzled Kotetsu.

"He always hurts you more…"

"I'll be fine. One day he'll learn not to mess with us. He just has to keep getting hurt himself to know that."

"...Little Tiger took his thumb off."

"He's...turning a little violent for such a young pup. I hope he's not turning out to be a rebellious one."

"It was clearly self defense. He was crying and scared."

Barnaby sighed and leaned against his mate. "I hope we can leave this place soon. I don't want to see our pups hurt ever again."

"Try to see if Ben will tell you more next time he visits." Kotetsu said, kissing Barnaby's forehead.

"I will."

Kotetsu nodded and sighed, "How are you feeling?"

“Tired. Hurting a little.” He rubbed the spot the tranquilizer dart had hit.

"Why don't you rest with the boys? I'll keep a look out."

“Thanks. I love you. You’re such a wonderful mate.” Barnaby nuzzled Kotetsu for a little bit, kissed him even, then curled around the pups and drifted back into sleep.

Kotetsu ran his hand through Barnaby's hair with a small smile before moving to the mouth of the cave.

Barnaby slept for a couple more hours, and he was disappointed to find that Tiger still hadn’t woken up. He was very concerned for his pup. “Kotetsu, I’m going to take Tiger up to the surface. I want you to stay here with Brook and Hiro, and stay out of sight.” He stroked Kotetsu’s cheek before exiting the cave, the still unconscious pup in his arms as he surfaced and whistled to see if anyone was near.

An assistant had just finished cleaning the deck and tending to his chores when the mer broke the surface. His eyes widened. The mers never came up when he was around. Slowly, he moved to the water – But not too close. His light blond hair hung in his face as if he was trying to hide from the world and stay in the background. "Hello, I'm Ivan. You look worried, can I do something to help?"

Barnaby made a small bark, which coincidentally sounded like Ben’s name, then gestured to his pup.

"…Either you want beans or Doctor Jackson? Ben Jackson?"

The mer nodded with a smile as he heard Ben’s name, clicking happily.

"Okay, I'll see if I can find him. I don't have clearance for some of the places he may be. Hold on, I'll look." He said, hurrying off.

About twenty minutes later Ben came rushing out onto the deck and over to Barnaby, "Barnaby? How are you feeling?"

Barnaby smiled up at Ben, then letting his smile fall as he gestured to Tiger.

Ben frowned, "He hasn't awoken yet? May I see him?"

The mer held out Tiger carefully to Ben.

Ben took the tiny mer into his hands. The boy seemed to shift and whimper weakly, which was a good sign. "I may have to take him to the medical lab and keep him in a smaller tank there if that's okay?"

Barnaby whined a little, wanting to stay with his pup, but if taking him away would help him, the mer would have to let Ben take him.

"I promise I'll guard him myself to make sure no one hurts him." Ben added.

It took a little bit, but finally Barnaby nodded with another whine. He trusted Ben. Surely he would treat the small pup kindly.

"I'll bring him back to you safe." Ben said, petting Barnaby before straightening up and turning to carry Tiger out.

Barnaby watched until he couldn’t see his pup anymore. He slouched a little with a sad look. Hopefully Kotetsu would understand.

He swam back down to the cave cautiously. “Kotetsu… Ben took Tiger to examine him. He promised our pup would be fine.”

Kotetsu looked up, "Took him where?"

“I don’t know; a lab or something. But Tiger is safe with Ben.”

"He'll…make sure he stays hydrated? It's dangerous for young pups to get too dry."

“Ben said he’d be in a smaller tank, so he’ll be fine.”

Kotetsu nodded with a sigh, "…I'm worried for him…"

“I am too. But we have to trust Ben to take care of him.”

"…If that man dares come close to the water again…" He grit his teeth.

“We’ll make sure he doesn’t escape. He’ll pay for what he did, I promise.” Barnaby hugged Kotetsu and nuzzled him.

"…He's going to be so scared when he wakes up… Our poor little Tiger."

“Tiger is strong. He stood up to the scary man, even tore his thumb off. Tiger will be strong for us.”

"But still, waking up and not having his family there?"

“It may be a little scary. But he’ll be fine. I believe in him. Besides, Brook made a wish for him to be better soon. Tiger has his whole family supporting him.”

"I wish we could be with him…" Kotetsu sighed and looked over where Brook and Hiro were playing with some oyster shells.

“I do too. I was a bit hesitant to let Ben take Tiger…” Barnaby sighed and moved closer to Kotetsu, wrapping his arms around his mate.

Kotetsu curled around his mate, holding him close and nuzzling his cheek.

“Tiger will be fine. We can trust Ben with him. He’s the one getting us out of here after all.”

* * *

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

Tiger lay in a shallow tank of salt water, monitors hooked up measuring his vitals and fresh bandages on his head. He whimpered, bringing his hands up to his cheeks, his head turning to the side as he let out a small cry. It hurt, he hurt, and he wanted his parents and brothers.

Ben had been nearby, and when he heard Tiger start to cry, he rushed to the small tank and stuck a finger in to soothe the pup. “Easy, Tiger. It’s alright, you’re safe.” He pet the pup’s cheek gently.

Tiger's cry was almost human-like as he wiggled, his eyes cracking open.

“Hey there, little guy.” Ben smiled as he cooed at Tiger. “You’ve been sleeping a long time. I’m glad you finally woke up, though.”

He hiccuped, his eyes widening as he looked up at Ben. Where was he? Where were his parents and brothers?"

“Don’t worry, you’ll be back with your family soon. They’ll be so happy to see you awake… though, I’m afraid you might not be the same as you were before…” Ben sighed and got a sad look. “Stupid Maverick… causing brain damage to a helpless mer pup. There’s got to be a way to expose him.”

Tiger flipped his tail, splashing the water before noticing the wires and tubes attached to him and he grabbed one.

"Ah, no Tiger. Leave those alone, buddy." Ben pulled the tiny hand away from the wires. "Those are helping you a great deal."

Tiger wiggled again, trying to shake them off. He didn't understand what they were.

Getting an idea in his head, Ben went to his desk and grabbed a little rubber duck that had a mer tail painted on it, and he placed it in Tiger's small hands. "Here, play with this instead."

Tiger's eyes widened and he made a noise of wonder as he looked at the toy, and then hugged it, causing it to squeak. Excited, he mimicked the sound.

"That's better. Just relax little guy. I'll have you back to your parents in no time." With one last stroke on the pup's cheek, Ben went back to his desk to do a little more research and testing.

 

* * *

 

It was another two days before Ben was sure Tiger was strong enough to be returned to his parents, and the man carefully wrapped the pup up in a damp towel, letting him keep the toy duck he'd grown so fond of as he carried him back to his parents, waiting on the edge of the tank for the mers to notice him.

Kotetsu was first to notice, and he turned, speeding through the water like a torpedo and bursting through the surface when he realized Ben was holding his son.

Barnaby saw Kotetsu rush to the top of the tank, and he grabbed Hiro and Brook to take them to the top as well. He whistled excitedly when he saw Tiger awake and giggling a little.

Tiger squealed when he saw his family, and Ben smiled, carefully unwrapping him and handing him to Kotetsu. "I'm sorry it took so long, but I wanted to make sure he was stronger before bringing him back."

Barnaby clicked inquisitively, wondering what all had happened and why Tiger and fallen unconscious for so long. He did his best to ask by making multiple gestures.

"He was in shock, and suffering trauma. As a result, his body was shutting down and he wasn't getting the nutrients he needed. We nursed him back to health, but…Mr. Maverick may have caused him some damage we can't fix. Please watch him closely until we know for sure." Ben looked over at Tiger who was snuggling his birth father, "…He's missed you all very much."

Barnaby purred as he nuzzled Tiger lovingly, then turned and make a few clicks of thanks to Ben.

Hiro and Brook reached up to their brother and chattered on to him, wanting to be close to him once again.

Kotetsu slowly lowered Tiger into the water and let go, watching him bob here a moment before Tiger slowly, and with some difficulty swam over to his brothers.

The triplets babbled on at each other, having a long conversation about anything really. It was all a guess as neither adult mers or human could understand them.

Barnaby smiled at his pups as he pulled Kotetsu closer.

Tiger held out the rubber duck and placed it between his brothers and himself, showing them the toy he'd been given, which got all three of them excited.

Barnaby sighed and kissed Kotetsu's cheek. "I told you he was safe."

"I still worried—so did you. I saw you wake up a few times at night and go up to the surface."

Barnaby got a guilty look on his face. "I couldn't help it. I was really worried for Tiger."

"I know." Kotetsu smiled and kissed his temple.

"I'm too attached I think." Barnaby sighed.

"Never. Our pups are our family."

"Never too attached to our pups? I'd start giving them more attention than you."

"They already do. They are still very young." Kotetsu pointed out.

"I know. I'm still very attached to them." Barnaby grabbed Kotetsu's hand and wrapped his tail around his mate's. "As I am to you."

Kotetsu pulled them together and let his lips seek out his mate's for a long moment, "I—is it alright that I'm excited to introduce you to my daughter, mother, and brother?"

"I'm excited to meet them... Though I'm afraid of what they might think of a captive mer being your mate." Barnaby chuckled lightly.

"Bunny, I'm also a captive mer right now. It isn't either of our fault."

"Well, I mean I've been captive my whole life. I'm not a wild mer, so I'll act different. You've seen me act different than what you're used to. I'm sure mating season went a little different this year for you."

"The fact I actually mated made this year different." Kotetsu chuckled.

"The same goes for me. Before this year, I hadn't really understood what was going on with me. Now I know for future reference."

"And we'll be together each time." Kotetsu purred.

"You bet we will. We'll be together forever." Barnaby nuzzled Kotetsu's cheek.

Kotetsu held Barnaby to him and looked over at their pups, watching them play.

While the mer family reunited and played with each other again, Maverick stood in the shadows with a scowl upon his face, watching the mers with much interest. His arms were folded, the stained bandages oozing blood onto his tailored suit. He tried to stay hidden from anyone watching.

Ben stood up, "Well, I have some things to take care of. I'll be back to feed you lunch soon."

Maverick watched Ben stand, and he was about to leave when a woman came up to him and pointed at him. “Hey you, I need a few quick words with you. It’s about the treatment of all the animals here.”

Maverick raised an eyebrow, "I'm busy. If you have a complaint please talk to the front desk."

“No, we are talking about this right now.” The woman put her hands on her hips and furrowed her eyebrows. “I brought my kids here recently, and it happened to be on the day that you tried to take one of the mer pups away from their parents. I doubt you have any experience about parenting, but I know for damn sure that you don’t take a child away from their parents.”

"How did you even get up here? This is a restricted area."

“Obviously you don’t know your employees that well. I’m the wife of one of the animal caretakers here. He came home one day telling me that you had him catch the smaller adult mer because you though he was a girl. The way you treat your animals here is inhumane. You should resign from your job if you won’t care for the animals.”

"And just who is your husband?"

“It doesn’t matter because he’s quitting his job. He’s not going to tolerate having the animals he cares for mistreated in your hands.”

"Then I suggest you and your husband leave before I call security."

“How about not?” Another woman called up from the viewing area with a very sour look on her face. “That woman had to keep her kids from seeing the way you treated those mer pups. I was in the same situation with my little girl.”

Maverick pulled out his phone and scrolled to the number for his personal security.

“Oh no you don’t.” The woman next to Maverick grabbed his phone right out of his hands and slammed it on the ground. “You are disrespectful to your workers and your animals here. I bet all of them hate you. I’ve seen the way those mers are around you. Barnaby and his mate are very protective of their pups, and you get hissed at every time you’re near!”

“They attack you because they hate you,” the woman below them called.

"You are in above your head, woman." Maverick growled.

“Then show us they don’t hate you.”

"These are wild, violent animals. They hate everyone. There is a reason we don't offer a swim with sharks option when we do allow people to swim with dolphins. It is the same with the mers. They attack."

“I, personally, love the mers. They’re so beautiful and loving from what I’ve seen, and they love to play with the children that come here to see them. They just don’t like you because you mistreat them all the time. If they wanted to attack, I would think that they’d be trying to break the glass all the time.”

"They are dumb animals, and you have worn out your welcome. Leave. Please expect a bill for my phone."

“How can you say that those mers are dumb?! They have learned to recognize certain people, and they have developed certain emotions for them! I bet if I brought my kids here right now, those mers would come to my kids instantly and play with them, where as if they came to you, they would hurt you.”

Inside the tank, Barnaby had been listening to the two women argue with Maverick. A low growl developed in his throat the more the scary man tried to lie.

"Let it go. He's not on the deck, so he's not a threat. We're going to the ocean soon, too." Kotetsu soothed his mate. "Choose your fights carefully. And for now, let's take the boys to see the rays."

“I’m getting fed up with him though. I can’t stand the sound of his voice even. One of these days, I’m going to…” Barnaby balled his hands up into fists and tried to relax. “He’s gonna get it.”

"Hopefully it won't come to that. Come on." Kotetsu said, swimming over and taking all three pups into his arms.

Though he really wanted to stay, Barnaby followed his mate protectively.

The woman who was standing next to Maverick put her hands on her hips as she watched the mer family swim away. “See, they know you’re here, and they move to protect their pups. I dare you to say they are dumb one more time.”

"Madam," Maverick stepped closer, standing at full height as he looked down at her. "I have been civil to you, but I will not ask again that you leave my center. I own every animal in every tank. They make me a great deal of money and their good health is my top priority. What use do I have for sick and dying animals? They would hardly be an attraction to schools and families wishing to come and learn about the ocean life we have here."

“You have been the reason those animals have been dying! If it weren’t for the two who take care of the mers, they’d be long dead by now, and Barnaby certainly wouldn’t have made it twenty years in captivity without them.”

"They are not dying. That is my point, you daft woman."

“You don’t care about them, only that they’re bringing in money for your business.”

"Which is why I care about them." He growled.

"That's the only reason why you care bout them!"

"Hey, what's going on here?" Ben had heard the commotion and had returned to the tank with a confused look.

"This woman is refusing to leave. Please call security as she has destroyed my phone."

"Does she have a good reason to stay?"

"I'm confronting him about the abuse of his animals! My kids and I witnessed him pluck that little mer pup from his siblings, then throw him onto the concrete and shoot poor Barnaby with a tranquilizer when it wasn't needed!"

"It was needed. He was attacking me. I happened to have lost part of my thumb that day."

"To be fair, you were kidnapping Tiger," Ben pointed out. "Technically speaking, you attacked him by taking Tiger."

"Jackson." Maverick's voice held warning, "Call security."

Ben took a step forward with eyebrows set low. "I will not, unless it is to get you away from the mers, as well as all of the other animals here. You shouldn't have the position that you do."

"Must I remind you who it is that writes your checks, Jackson?"

"At this point, I don't care about the money. I care about my relationship with Barnaby, Kotetsu, and their pups. That's what should be important here, not how much money is made. How's your relationship with the mers? I haven't seen you around them much since you had your thumb bitten off."

"I don't fancy another attack. I suggest you do as I say or else you won't have access to the mers at all. Shame, really, as you are one of the only people that they let get close."

"Because they have trust built up in us. And if you don't want another attack, why were you here in the first place? Planning on taking Tiger again? You won't get near him at all."

"I was simply watching. I stayed out of sight so as not to spook the fish."

"They are not fish! Quit calling them that! They are intelligent creatures we call mers, and they have every right to attack you right now for the way you are disrespecting them. I'm sure that if you tried to pull your stunts on a group of wild mers, you'd be dead in seconds."

"Funny how the one who attacks me is the one that you raised, Doctor Jackson."

"Because you've given him a reason to attack."

"And not the wild mer who only barely trusts you? She hasn't attacked me."

"Kotetsu is a male, god damn it! He doesn't attack unless Barnaby can't because he has the mothering instinct to hide and guard the pups while his mate provides first defense."

"Males don't get pregnant."

"Male mers do. They're the only species in existence to do so. You would know that if you paid more attention to the mers."

"I'm the owner. I run the business, not the studies."

"We normal visitors know more about the mers than you do now. It really should be the other way around."

"Madam, I really couldn't care less what you think."

“Well, it’s clear you don’t think highly of the animals you have here. Do you even know the mer pups’ names? Do you know Barnaby’s mate’s real name? You’re the owner of this center, you should know these things, shouldn’t you?”

Ben stepped up closer to the lady and put a hand on her shoulder, then looked at Maverick dangerously. “One day, Maverick, you’re going to get too confident in yourself, and those mers are going to attack you and rip you to shreds. I’d be careful about treating them correctly, including your guests that come here every day. You’re starting to lose money the more the guests see you try to hurt your animals here.”

"I warned you, Jackson."

“The worst you can do is fire me. Then I’ll tell the whole world what you really do to these animals.”

"I have nothing to fear. You, on the other hand, no longer work here."

“Then it’s a good thing I have all security camera footage backed up on a hard drive.” Ben turned to leave with a frown. “Good luck keeping the mers in line. It won’t be long before they gang up on you.”

"Take these women with you." He snapped.

“They didn’t come up to me. You deal with them.” With that, Ben left to remove his things from the office he had been using for so many years.

Barnaby looked up from the stingray he was chasing with his pups, a sudden chill running down his spine. He had an uncomfortable feeling, like he wasn’t as safe as he was before. He didn’t like it, and he looked to the surface of the water to see if he could figure anything out. “Kotetsu…”

"Hmm?" Kotetsu asked, showing Brook how to properly pet a stingray.

“Something doesn’t feel right…”

"…Like?"

“Like we’re going to get seriously hurt if we don’t do something fast.”

"How? Ben and Saito protect us and they are getting us out of here…"

“I don’t think they are anymore, Kotetsu. I have a really bad feeling.” Barnaby swallowed as he grabbed his mate’s hand.

"Talk to Ben when he brings us dinner."

“I…I don’t think I can wait that long. I need to talk to him now.”

Kotetsu nodded, "Alright."

“Sorry.” Barnaby placed a quick kiss on Kotetsu’s cheek, then rushed back to the cave, listening before he rose to the surface. He found Maverick standing there, though not close enough to attack, arguing with a woman who did not look happy at all.

"I have warned you multiple times, madam, don't think I won't throw you out myself if you do not leave right now. Both of you." He added to the silent, scowling woman.

“I will not leave until the treatment of these animals is improved by a hundred percent! I will not stand for cruelty in this center, especially to that mer family!”

From the water, Barnaby growled a little, his mouth just barely above the water’s surface. His fins flared a little.

"Very well." Maverick stepped forward, grabbing her arm and pushing her around towards the gate.

“H-hey! Get your hands off of me!” The woman struggled to get out of Maverick’s grip, but she wasn’t strong enough to do so. That was when Barnaby was fed up with the scary man. He hissed and shrieked before launching out of the water and digging his claws into Maverick’s back. The two went down; hitting the deck as Maverick cried out in pain.

The mer latched his teeth into Maverick’s leg and thrashed his leg about, snarling and screeching the whole time. It scared the woman who was standing next to them, but she was silently cheering Barnaby on.

"Get it off!" Maverick screamed, kicking Barnaby's head with his free leg.

With Barnaby’s body flying about dangerously, the woman wanted no part in the fight. She was much happier letting the mer take out his anger on Maverick.

Barnaby thrashed and tossed his body around, sinking his teeth deeper into Maverick’s leg.

Mavrick rolled over, kicking harder.

The harder the man kicked, the deeper Barnaby's teeth sank, and soon the mer felt his teeth start to dig into bone. He tossed his head as hard as he could, desperately trying to break the man's leg, or remove it even.

The man cried out again, reaching for something—anything to hit the mer with.

Barnaby thrashed his head one more time before he dragged Maverick into the water and slipped in. He swam to the bottom, making sure he had a good grip on the scary man.

Maverick scrambled to hold his breath, growing more and more desperate to break free as the water pressed in around him, bubbles tickling his skin as they floated up to the world above he was being denied.

The mer wrapped his hands around Maverick's neck after releasing his leg. He was very angry, and he wasn't going to tolerate the man escaping him this time. One of them had to die before the fight was over. Barnaby's instincts were kicking in, and he was more than happy to do any damage to the man who threatened his family.

"Bunny…what are you doing?" Kotetsu gasped.

"Hide," was all Barnaby said to his mate as his hands tightened their grip on Maverick's neck.

"The sharks will come—hungry. They are attracted to blood." Kotetsu said. He had already shooed the triplets into the cave as soon as he realized that his mate had attacked the land dweller.

Barnaby ignored his mate’s words, the angry look in his eyes increasing. He was set on drowning the man at the mercy of his hands.

"Bunny," Kotetsu swam closer, "We are not killers."

“This man is though!” Barnaby was about to snap at his mate when Maverick remembered he had a tranquilizer gun on him. Lungs burning for air, he pulled struggled to pull it out of his jacket pocket to aim at Barnaby. The familiar weapon caught the mer's attention and spooked him. He let go and swam away quickly, knowing very well he did not want to be shot.

It was the opportunity Maverick needed to swim back to the top to the tank with difficulty and break the surface with a gasp just as his lungs would have given out. He weakly clung to the edge of the deck, unable to summon the strength to finish pulling himself up, even as sharks started to gather at the smell of blood in the water.

Barnaby glanced up at Maverick with a scowl, also keeping an eye on the sharks in case one of them decided to go after one of his pups. He knew what Kotetsu had said was true, that the mers were not killers without reason, but Maverick was one of those people had done many bad things that pretty much qualified them for death. Barnaby was getting restless just watching the human barely cling to the deck. The women who had been on the deck was gone now, staying back in the observation area as they watched the mers swim about; Barnaby in particular.

Kotetsu reached out and touched his mate's shoulder, "We don't kill him—but we don't have to save him.

Barnaby seemed content with that, and he took a deep breath before heading back to the cave and curling around the pups.

Kotetsu glanced up at the sharks circling Maverick. He was a protector in the ocean, yet the man had harmed his pup and mate. With a sigh he turned into the cave, wondering if he'd regret his action later.

Slowly the sharks closed in until they were brushing up against Maverick. The women watching couldn’t stand to watch much more, and one hid her face, yet staying to defend the mers she had come to love. The other turning away.

* * *

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

The incident at the Aquatic Center had nearly claimed Albert Maverick's life and sparked a global controversy over keeping mers in captivity. Mers had already, years before, been marked as an endangered species, and the hunting of them had been outlawed. But it remained open to zoos and aquariums to keep mers within their tanks should the opportunity arise. Now that had been called into question and activists and experts were pushing to ban the practice with the exception of nursing one back to health should one be found sick or injured. They would then be later released into the ocean.

On a local level, the Sternbild Aquatic center had undergone an investigation, and a court hearing had been scheduled.

The mer family had hidden in their cave to avoid being around any humans they didn’t trust. Barnaby had been right about his feeling of what happened to Ben. The man didn’t return to provide meals, and neither did Saito. The mers were on their own with finding food.

The court hearing occurred a few weeks after the incident at the Aquatic Center. Maverick was to go against Ben, and there were more people behind Ben than Maverick once the news of what had happened to Ben got around.

Maverick had lost both his legs to the sharks, and he'd suffered many injuries. A private nurse tended to him all day long, and had escorted him to the court room, pushing his wheelchair where the old man directed her to push him.

The case was already well under way, evidence for and against Maverick being presented to the jury.

Ben certainly was nervous about the hearing, but he remained confident, defending the mers with his whole being. There was no way that Maverick was going to win against him when there was clean evidence that the man was abusing his animals and the mers.

"As you have seen in the clips presented previously, the mers have always been gentle. Even when kids would bang on the glass they wouldn't react violently, but rather act startled, but then would approach the glass to interact or dance. They were like that with everyone. Gentle, kind…except when it came to Mr. Maverick." Ben testified as the video evidence was queued up.

"They didn't start out violent with him. As you can see here, they would just run when they saw him approach. Dive under the water and hide. It was when Mr. Maverick stopped simply watching them when they started clearly defending themselves."

The video switched from the first day Kotetsu had allowed Ben to pet him before Maverick startled him and he and Barnaby rushed under the surface once more, to the day they had been sunning themselves.

"He kicks them into the water and they react by hissing warnings at him. But then, he crosses the line."

The clip was changed to the day Maverick had tried separating them.

"Even the way he pulled our second mer, Kotetsu, from the water was wrong and caused damage to his tail. Transferring mers should be done carefully. Not only did he risk serious harm to Kotetsu, but he put them both on high alert. It's no wonder our first mer, Barnaby, attacked when his mate was suddenly ripped from the waters. From there, he only antagonized them more, causing more aggression in them towards him and he alone."

The clip showed how Barnaby had been beaten with rods, it showed when the newborn pup, Tiger, had been plucked from the water and injured when his parent moved to defend the pup, it showed the final confrontation where simply getting too close to the water caused Barnaby to attack, though it was unclear if the woman had been part of the reason or not. The court jury reacted majorly to the clips shown.

"The mers acted only in self defense. Mr. Maverick had made himself a threat to them, and upon instinct to keep themselves and their pups safe, they defended their territory when that threat got too close. Mr. Maverick is claiming that my partner Dr. Saito and I had trained the mers to attack him. Clearly, they didn’t need training to attack when he kept giving them reason to do so."

“If I may object,” Maverick started. “In that last clip, I was minding my own business when the mer attacked me. That woman was simply talking to me, and the next moment I was being attacked. The time I was removing the female mer was to ensure that she and her mate did not perform inappropriate acts in front of the guests of the Aquatic center. I was viciously attacked by them for trying to help. She would have been returned at the end of their mating season. When I picked up the young mer pup, I was simply examining it. I had no intention of harming the tiny thing. It picked up its aggressiveness from its parents no doubt, and bit my whole thumb off.”

He straitened his tie and cleared his throat before continuing. “Those mers attacked me on purpose. They are terrible animals that should be put down for their very aggressive behavior. It is clearly very hard to fight one of them off, and my injuries should be clear evidence of that.”

"It is not your turn to testify, please stand down." The judge stated.

"Allow me to cross-examine your former employee, sir." Maverick's lawyer said before standing when it was his turn to ask Ben questions.

"Dr. Jackson, how long have you worked at the Sternbild Center?"

“Almost twenty-five years. I had just barely been working at the Aquatic Center for five years when Barnaby was found nearly dead on the beach.”

"And you have had a major part in caring for this mer you call Barnaby?"

“My partner and I, yes.”

"And yet you were recently fired for insubordination, correct?"

“Yes.”

"You were guilty of this on multiple accounts when it came to the mers, yet my client had given you chance after chance, knowing that you took good care of the fish in that tank. He knew that they trusted you. And yet, you constantly refused to follow orders until it couldn't be ignored any longer. Why is that?"

“I didn’t follow orders for the good of the mers and the guests that came to the center. I was protecting both to prevent a breakout of unnecessary aggression, of which was unavoidable in the last encounter. I had left and was planning on going home before I heard Mr. Maverick talk rather rudely to the woman.”

"You misunderstand. Why refuse to follow orders?"

“I told you, to protect the mers and the guests.”

"And yet, when you were ordered to separate the two mers to protect guests and children from witnessing inappropriate mating behavior, you did not do so. You were given the chance to remove one of them safely and properly and place it in another tank just until the mating season came to an end, and forcing Mr. Maverick to take action himself."

“The safety of the mers was also in consideration. Separating the two would have been disastrous, as was seen when Maverick forcibly tried to remove Kotetsu on his own when I certainly could have done it in a much safer way. I was not given the chance to even prepare a tank to put Kotetsu in safely.”

"You were given three days, how long does it take to prepare a tank?"

“Well… maybe not that long, but you need time to prepare the water in the separate tank so the mer won’t go into shock while in the other tank.”

"And you didn't do that or tell my client you were working on it?"

“My partner and I were discussing it. We also told the mers about it, so they needed a few days to prepare themselves.”

"But you failed to let your boss know, which lead him to take action and caused him harm from the mers."

“He didn’t notify me or my partner of his actions, and we are the caretakers for the mers. Anything that happens to them is reported to us before it happens. Maverick failed to do so. He broke his own rules as the owner of the center.”

"He is the owner. He makes the rules. My client never meant to harm any of the mers."

“That’s not very clear by what the video clips show.”

"From your point of view. There was no sound to support that it is fully my client's fault or not. I saw a man doing as he thought was best, and his actions unknowingly causing aggression in the mers. No more questions." The lawyer said, turning away.

Ben sighed and looked up at the judge. Maverick seemed pleased with how his lawyer performed, and a small smile graced his lips.

"You may step down, Dr. Jackson."

Ben nodded and returned to his podium.

“Now, it’s your turn to talk, Mr. Maverick. What’s your side of the story?”

“Well, I have told most of my side already. I have no intentions of hurting the mers in any way. I want what’s best for them, and sometimes the men I assigned to work with them do not do their jobs, therefore I have to take matters into my own hands. I can’t help that some things that I do are not satisfactory to Dr. Jackson and Dr. Saito.” He said after being wheeled into the witness box.

"Sir, please wait until you are asked questions."

“Is it not his turn to speak, your honor?” Maverick’s lawyer slightly snapped, to which Ben flinched slightly.

"It is, but you of all people know that you must ask your witness questions. That’s how this works."

It was Ben’s lawyer’s turn to step up, and he did so with much confidence. “Well, since the questioning might as well get started quickly, I’ll start off with this. Mr. Maverick, when you were picking up the mer pup, did you make sure that the parents were well aware that you were about to pick up their pup?”

"I breed dogs." Maverick stated, "And my females never react to the pups being picked up and examined. I assumed it would be the same as when I am examining the health of a purebred pup."

“You should know very well that the mers are nowhere near the same as dogs. Mers have their own actions, their own thoughts that they act upon. Dogs are not quite the same. But surely you knew there had to be some difference, correct?”

"Well I do now, but that didn't help me back then."

“That was quite recently, though. You had to have known the difference as soon as the pups were born.”

"It was the first time I had seen them. So no."

“So you had no idea when the pups were born. Then, in your mind, it must have been a good idea to pick up one of the mer pups, when the parents don’t trust you and try to stay clear of you. What would have done, in this case, if the mers were indeed dogs, them being as unfamiliar and defensive with you as they are now? Would you still have picked up the pup?”

"Dr. Jackson was present. I assumed he had things under control."

“My client is not always able to do his job, again, due to keeping the public and the mers safe. Even if he is present with the mers, one should always be careful around them. The guests are told this all the time.”

"I admit I had a lapse of judgment, but that isn't a crime, sir."

“No, but needlessly chucking the poor mer pup was a serious act of animal cruelty to an animal that you own.”

"I was in a panic. I was trying to return the pup to the water as I was sure at that point I'd lose a hand if I offered the pup to its father."

“From what the videos showed, you weren’t panicked at all, just angry that the pup happened to bite you.”

"Panic can look that way. But I bet if you had an angry mer clawing at you and a baby one biting you, your first instinct would be to get away. The panic comes in as a bad judgment on how to go about that." Maverick stated calmly, folding his hands.

“You were far enough away from the parents that you could have set the pup back gently in the water.”

"Shall we play it again? I was backed up to the gate, the male mer right there on a full attack. I wasn't near the water."

“That mer was acting out of defense for his defenseless pup. He was attacking to save the poor thing, not to directly attack you.”

The clip was shown again. And indeed, Barnaby had only attacked once Tiger was in danger.

"And still, that somehow proves that I wasn't fearful of my own safety? You must be delusional."

“You have gone into the exhibit countless times without telling anyone and watched the mers do their own activities. Clearly your own safety was not in your mind each time you entered, as you do seem to know that the mers are very dangerous creatures. Did it ever occur to you why the mers acted the way they did around you?”

"Yes, and I had suspected their caretakers to have a part in it."

“My client is not the one in question at the moment. You, however are, so I ask you this, have you seen the mers’ caretakers train them to perform any harmful acts against a person?”

"I am a busy man, I hired them and left them to their work as I handled the business side of things. I had little time to watch their work with my mers."

“So you can’t say that they have for sure been training the mers to attack you.”

"No, but even when my male mer was young he'd growl at me through the glass when I was only standing in the back of the observation room watching. There was absolutely no reason for it."

“Have you ever thought that you might look like a natural threat to the mers? Perhaps the mers can sense emotions through body language better than us humans are able to?”

"Do I seem like anything more than a business man to you once you disregard the charges brought against me by your client?"

“To me, no. But to the mers, that’s a different story.”

"I rescued that mer. He was fine with me before he was nursed back to health and began to be trained."

“Was the mer ever really trained, or did he just learn things on his own?”

"How else are they to learn? He stopped eating the other fish in the tanks and waited for the feeder fish. He began putting on shows for visitors."

“So then he really wasn’t trained?”

"My bet would be that he was, or else he'd still be hunting my rare and expensive fish he shares the tank with.

“But other than that simple training, which may not have been anything more than a small lesson, Barnaby was not trained in any way, therefore he would have no reason to attack you other than for defending his family against you. It’s as simple as that, Mr. Maverick. No further questions.” Ben’s lawyer returned to his client’s side confidently.

Maverick growled, "Why don't you provide proof of that?"

“Silence,” the judge said with authority. “Is there any more questioning that needs to be done?”

The court hearing was a mess from beginning to end, but finally the jury had come back with their verdict.

"We the jury in the case of Jackson vs. Maverick, find Albert Maverick guilty of animal abuse. And request that the mers are set free in their natural habitat." Was the simple ruling.

Ben took a huge sigh of relief at the jury’s ruling. It was a little hard to believe that he had won against Maverick in a very controversial case, and now the mers would be set free into the ocean without having to worry about ever being put onto display. Kotetsu would get to be back home again with his daughter, and Barnaby would return after twenty years of absence. Now, just to tell them they are going home…

 

* * *

 

"Careful, you don't want them to fall over." Kotetsu cooed at Hiro as the boy held out a shell. He and Barnaby were teaching the pups how to play some games, and Hiro was trying to place a shell atop his tower of shells. He did so and they all tumbled down, making the family laugh.

“Have to keep trying, Hiro. You want your tower to be as tall as possible!” Barnaby patted his pup’s back gently and encouraged him to try again at building the tower.

Above the water, Ben and Saito were excited as they brought up a transfer tank to the deck, ready to take the mer family to the ocean and release them. There were some sad emotions going through both men, but they knew the real emotional part would be seeing the mers swim off on their own, perhaps never to be seen again by humans.

"Ahh!" Hiro swam over to Tiger's tower which had gotten quite tall, watching his brother and trying to learn how he did it. At least, he did until Brook pointed upwards.

Brook’s brothers looked up and all scrambled to hide behind their parents from the scary things that were happening above the surface of the water.

Barnaby made a surprised noise when the pups suddenly scattered in a frenzy, but he was quick to calm down once he recognized Ben.

"Ben?" Kotetsu blinked in surprise, "He's back? Should we go greet him?"

“I don’t see why not. He’s our friend after all, and we haven’t seen him for a few weeks.” Barnaby quickly swam to the surface of the tank with happy whistles, greeting Ben excitedly.

Kotetsu gathered the pups and followed, staying back just in case another man, one they didn't trust, had returned.

Ben smiled sitting down and petting Barnaby, "I'm sorry I haven't been here to see you and your little ones. Have you been treated alright?"

Barnaby nodded, purring and leaning into Ben’s hand.

Ben looked over and smiled, "Your pups are getting big."

The mer made a questioning noise before looking at his mate and pups, then smiled and chirped softly at Ben.

"We did it. Maverick can't hurt you anymore." Ben continued as Kotetsu brought the pups over closer. He then looked back at the tank Saito was working on, "…We'll be saying good bye soon…"

Barnaby turned a little sad, moving his head so his face was hidden in Ben’s hand. He shook slightly.

"I know. I'll miss you too. You, Kotetsu, and your pups. But this way no one can hurt you again. Saito and I…we'll try to visit you."

Though it was a mostly empty promise, Barnaby seemed satisfied by it, and he looked back up at Ben, the caretaker he had come to love over the last twenty years he was in that tank. He managed a small smile, green eyes glittering with unshed tears.

Kotetsu came closer, and soon the pups were hanging off their father.

"Ben, the tank is ready. Water has tested to be safe for them." Saito called out.

Ben nodded and looked back at the mer family, "Will you allow us to move you?"

Looking at his family, Barnaby felt safe for the first time a great while. He didn’t feel the constant threat he was so used to feeling with Maverick always hanging in the shadows. But now, even that feeling was gone, and so Barnaby really and truly felt the safest he had ever felt in his life.

Barnaby turned his gaze back to Ben with an even wider smile, and then a small nod.

"Alright, who first?" Ben asked as they brought over a stretcher to carry the mers on to the transfer tank. "You or Kotetsu? I assume you two will be holding onto your pups."

Barnaby looked at Kotetsu. “I… I think you should go first. And make sure they handle the pups carefully. I…need to have a moment.”

Kotetsu nodded and allowed the team of humans to carefully lift him onto the stretcher before he reached out to have Barnaby hand him their pups one by one, holding them close as he was picked up and moved over to the smaller tank and carefully slipped in with his pups.

Once the rest of his family was safe in the transfer tank, Barnaby took time to look around the tank, take it all in one last time with a few sad clicks and whistles as he grabbed the rubber duck toy and the pearl Kotetsu had given to him as a confession of his love. He didn't want to leave it behind. He built up enough courage to return to the deck and wait to be placed onto the stretcher and put in the transfer tank. When he slipped in, he grabbed Kotetsu and held him close, hiding his face so he didn’t have to see his old home go.

Kotetsu held him, "It's okay, I'm here, we all are with you still." Kotetsu purred, kissing his hair.

“This is harder than I thought it would be…” Barnaby held Kotetsu closer, as well as the pups.

His mate nodded, "I know it's hard to be taken from the place you call home. It's okay to be sad."

The tank was pulled away and loaded onto a truck bed and strapped in place to be driven down to the pier where they would be moved onto a boat and taken further out to be released.

The trip was bumpy, and several time the mers were spooked by the sudden jolts they experienced on their way to the pier. On the boat, they were not as easily spooked as they were more accustomed to the rocking of the waves. They really didn’t settle, however, until the boat came to a complete stop and just rode the waves easily.

Kotetsu was excited to go home, and he eyed the waves of his home waters eagerly, chirping as the men set to work under Ben and Saito's instruction. The pups were all confused and had gathered in a corner of the tank together, not knowing what to think of all the sudden changes.

Seeing the vastness of the ocean was a bit intimidating to Barnaby, but he had to set a strong example for his pups, so he too tried to be excited for life in the ocean, though he knew very little.

The tank was carefully lifted up over the edge of the boat and down to the water, then lowered down so that the top of the tank was just barely above the surface of the water. Barnaby swallowed and grabbed Brook and Hiro, nudging Tiger over to Kotetsu. At Barnaby’s signal, the tank was lowered more in the water, and finally the mer family escaped the small tank and dove into the open ocean.

Kotetsu swam around the boat with high speeds the tank at the center hadn't allowed him to get to, enjoying the feeling of the fresh salty water flowing past his skin and scales. It was easier to breathe again, and he jumped, flipping in the air with Tiger still in his arms in a show of thank you to the humans who had returned him home.

Barnaby was not as thrilled, in fact, he was a little scared. But he smiled as he watched his mate flip around with Tiger in his arms. It was clear that the older mer was very happy to be back in the ocean, and if Kotetsu was happy, then Barnaby was happy. He let Brook and Hiro swim over, moving at a much slower pace than Kotetsu had been moving.

Kotetsu was grinning and he moved to snuggle his mate before looking up at the humans in the boat, all of which were watching the mers. It was their last chance to say goodbye, and he knew Barnaby needed that moment before they made their way into the depths and he brought them home with the other half of his family.

Ben smiled down at the family, "Don't be scared, Barnaby."

Barnaby couldn’t help that he felt a little scared. He hadn’t been in the ocean for so long, and there were many things he didn’t know about. He made a small whistle as he looked up at Ben. It was a strange feeling he had, but he suddenly reached his arms up, wanting a hug from his friend.

Ben smiled and moved to comply, hugging the mer like he hadn't since Barnaby was still a pup; alone and scared. "I'm so proud of you."

The mer chattered for a little bit, no doubt thanking Ben for all he had done for him, his mate, and his pups. It was hard to depart from the man, but Barnaby finally let go and sank back into the water with his family. As Kotetsu and the pups started to swim away, Barnaby felt like he needed to perform for the humans on last time, and he dove deep into the water then raced back to the surface to create the biggest and best jump he had performed yet, whistling happily his thanks one last time.

"I hope we meet again." Ben smiled, watching Barnaby's show and then how he caught up to his family before they all dove out of sight.

 

* * *

 

"I miss dad!" A mergirl about ten years old huffed as she sank onto the soft sandy bank right outside the family home. Her bright yellow tail curling gracefully in the cool waters. "I hate land dwellers—what right do they have stealing us from our homes?"

“Kaede, you should know they know nothing about us,” an elderly merwoman said to her granddaughter. “Unfortunately they take everything that’s new and exciting to them.”

"But this time it was _my_ dad! I already lost mom, and now it's as if Dad's dead, too! I—I wish I could sink ships!"

“That’s a little violent, don’t you think?” The mer flipped her shinning purple tail to move closer to her granddaughter. “I know you’re upset, but you have to trust your father. He is a strong mer. It’d take a lot to kill him.”

"They might dry him out. That would kill him." She muttered before pushing herself up, "I'm beginning to think that hiding and not fighting back isn't the way to live. If we just show them that we can fight back maybe they'll avoid us!"

“You can’t be sure, but it is a nice thought. I wish the land dwellers would leave us alone just as much as you do. But you should know that your father was doing his job when he was captured. He was protecting you and the community, and your uncle does his best to protect us as well.” The old mer, known as Anju, looked to another purple-tailed mer who was above them, looking around as he guarded the two mers below.

"I know—and I love Uncle Muramasa…but…dad was my dad…he was always here for me, and now he's been taken…"

“Just you watch, Kaede. He’ll be swimming back to us in one piece before you know it.”

"How? Uncle chased after that ship until they reached land! He saw them take him away from the ocean!"

“Your father has escaped many tricky situations. I believe he can survive being taken onto land.”

"But if they didn't kill him, how would he get back?" Kaede shook her head and flopped back onto the sand, looking up at the surface far above.

“I wish I had all the answers for you…” Anju sighed and rubbed Kaede’s shoulder.

Above Anju and Kaede, the other mer, Muramasa, flared his fins a little, catching the sound of something he thought was familiar. He couldn’t tell because the sound was so far away. Still, he was alert, and he made it obvious so Anju caught sight of him.

"What is it, Shark?" Kaede asked, also noticing. Generally, sharks and mers got along, but the toothy animals had been unusually aggressive. It happened every so often, so the mers were used to taking cover from an aggressive shark to avoid any confrontation.

“It’s not a shark…” Anju said quietly. I can hear it too, now, and it sounds nothing like a shark.”

Muramasa moved closer in the direction of the sound, pausing a bit before barking at the source. He waited for any sort of reply, hoping that it was a mer returning home.

A moment later a bark drifted back on the currents followed by a series of smaller, quieter barks as if made by very young merpups.

The quieter barks were totally unfamiliar to Muramasa, but the louder one was so familiar he got excited and couldn’t stay still. He barked again, louder this time, with eyes open wide.

Again, he got the same confusing yet familiar response as a speck appeared in the distance of the open waters.

Anju perked up a little, her fins flaring in excitement. Her son above her was also getting excited, barking more and whistling some as he flipped around.

“I have a feeling that could be your father, Kaede,” Anju said excitedly.

"No way…Dad's gone, and—"

She was interrupted by another call. A call she remembered from her past that only one mer ever made.  She took off, then, shooting through the waters like a torpedo towards the call. "Daddy!"

“Kaede, wait!” Anju took after Kaede as best as she could, Muramasa chased after them as well, calling out to who he was sure was his younger brother.

Kaede, being an incredibly fast swimmer, maintained her lead until she collided with her lost father in a tight hug. The two twirling in place.

"Kaede—Oh, I missed you so much!"

"Daddy!"

“Kotetsu!” Both Anju and Muramasa cried out for the mer, wrapping him in a big family hug once they were all together.

Staying back a bit, Barnaby and the pups let the family be reunited once more, a small smile forming on Barnaby’s lips as he watched.

Hiro chirped, slipping away from his father and brothers to go investigate these new mers that were hugging his birth-father. Small and unnoticed, he slipped around them and moved up into Kaede's long, flowing brown hair before popping his face out over her shoulder to infiltrate the family hug and look at Kotetsu with his curious chirps.

Anju was the first to notice Hiro, and she gasped, moving back a little. “…Kotetsu, did this one come with you?”

Barnaby tried to hold back Brook and Tiger from joining their brother, but they wouldn’t have any of Barnaby’s protection, thus they escaped and joined Hiro in the group hug.

Kotetsu laughed and broke the hug to gather the three boys in his arms, kissing the tops of each of their heads, "Mom, Muramasa, Kaede, this is Hiro, Brook, and Tiger. The newest additions to our family—and—B—Bunny!" Kotetsu looked back at Barnaby, coaxing him over, "This is Bunny—my mate and the father of our pups. Bunny, boys, this is Kaede, your big sister, your grandma Anju, and Uncle Muramasa!"

Barnaby moved closer slowly, looking for reactions from the rest of the family. He nuzzled Kotetsu’s neck lightly, keeping a sharp eye on Muramasa especially. He didn’t look like the kind of mer to be messed with.

Anju blinked and broke into a smile. “Oh, Kotetsu, they’re beautiful! The pups can’t be too old yet, either!”

"They are a month old." Kotetsu smiled. "Hiro here likes to wander and explore things, Brook likes to play with animals, and Tiger's just a huge sweetie, though he's shy and has some trouble swimming."

"So…I'm a big sister now?" Kaede asked and her father nodded. "I want to hold my brothers!"

Hiro and Brook swam right into their sister’s arms, giggling and chirping as they did so, and Tiger joined them eventually, though he was considerably slower than they were. Barnaby helped him move closer.

“Oh, they’re just so precious,” Anju gushed as she reached a finger to stroke Brook’s cheek. “They turned out very handsome, just like your mate.” Brook tilted his chin up, chirping happily as he was given such attention.

Barnaby flushed a little still a little nervous to be around the family. He tried to keep his distance while still being close to his pups.

Kotetsu smiled and wrapped his arms and tail around his mate, "He is very handsome, yes." He nuzzled Barnaby's cheek before encouraging them, "My family doesn't bite, Bunny."

“Sorry, I’m still getting used to the ocean…” Barnaby looked around him, water in every direction as far as he could see. “It’s just so open…”

Muramasa tilted his head, looking over Barnaby slowly. “…You’re not from around here are you?”

"Bunny's from the land. He was raised by Land Dwellers in this small enclosed fake ocean with some invisible walls. They took him from the ocean when he was four, so he doesn't remember much of the ocean. But he can understand their language, and the two land dwellers who raised him and took care of both of us are the ones who set us free again."

“So you’re a captive mer…” Anju sighed. “I’m so sorry, dear. The ocean is a lot less scary when you’ve lived in it your whole life, I'm sure.”

Barnaby shrugged and looked at Kotetsu. “To be honest, I never really understood what the meaning of freedom was until I met Kotetsu. He showed me that there’s a lot more in the world than I knew, and I wanted to learn it all. But when it came time to leave the tank… It was hard to say goodbye to Ben.”

Kaede looked up, "Bean?"

“Ben. He was one of the humans who took care of me.” Barnaby smiled, remembering the man’s kind face. “He was my friend for twenty years.”

“I don’t see how you could have befriended a land dweller,” Muramasa muttered. “They’re dangerous and mean.”

“Masa, hush.” Anju patted her son’s shoulder in a scolding manner.

"Not all of them." Kotetsu said, taking Barnaby's hand. "Bunny taught me that. And their pups are fun to play with."

“I loved seeing the kids’ faces every day. They were so mystified as they watched me swim around. Their parents were just as amazed.” Barnaby smiled.

“Still don’t see why you befriended them…”

"They took care of us. Made sure we had food available in that fake ocean, protected us from the bad Land Dwellers…and Ben Saved Tiger's life." Kotetsu stated.

“Tiger… he’s the slow one, right?” Muramasa pointed to Tiger.

“Yes, what happened to the poor guy? He should be swimming just as good as his brothers now, shouldn’t he?” Anju scooped up Tiger into her arms.

A saddened look made it's way into both parent's eyes, "A bad land dweller…managed to capture Tiger and pulled him from the water onto the land…I grabbed the other two to keep them protected while Bunny ventured out of the water to get him back, but…the land dweller…harmed Tiger." Kotetsu sighed.

“Ben said there was damage to his brain, and it prevented him from learning as fast as Brook and Hiro.” Barnaby sighed and moved closer to Anju, stroking Tiger’s cheek.

“Tiger has been a strong boy to still be going after that. He’ll grow up to be just as strong as his brothers, I’m sure.” Anju looked at Barnaby with a kind smile.

"And now all our pups are out of that danger." Kotetsu nodded.

"Ahhhhah!" Tiger said suddenly, holding out the rubber duck toy to show it off before letting it go and watching it float upwards. Brook was quick to swim up and catch it, as was the game they had created for the toy.

Barnaby chuckled as he watched the duck. “Don’t let it float away too far.”

"Bruu!" Brook held out the toy to his father.

He took the duck and made it squeak, which surprised Muramasa a little. The mer jumped back a little, eyes wide.

"It's a harmless toy the boys were given." Kotetsu laughed.

Kaede, still holding and playing with Hiro moved over to Barnaby, "So you're my new dad?"

Barnaby nodded a little nervously. “I hope that’s okay… I don’t mean to replace your mother.”

"Are you kidding? We have been practically _begging_ my dad to think about finding a new mate for years! He's really one of those mers who are much happier and better off with a mate. I'm glad you two found each other. And besides, you are far from being my mother."

“Oh, well that’s a relief. At least I know I’m accepted into the family now.” Barnaby chuckled a little. “Thank you. I haven’t been part of a family for about twenty years. This really means a lot.”

"…Twenty years?" The girl asked as her baby brother moved from her arms and into her hair.

“My parents were dead by the time I was four, and I never really was in a family again until I became Kotetsu’s mate. Looking back on those years, I was so lonely, even if I didn’t notice it.”

"….How did you survive? We all are social creatures! We have family homes near other mers for a reason. To be alone for that long…"

“Well, I did have the humans to keep me company, but even then it was really lonely. I guess it’s why I felt a little threatened when your father arrived. I didn’t know how to react to having another mer around.”

"Didn't help that I was scared, confused, and didn't expect to see another mer so when he touched me I snarled at him thinking it was a land dweller…" Kotetsu laughed.

“Yeah, sorry. I should have said something before I touched you. We both weren’t prepared to see another mer in such close quarters.” Barnaby smiled before grabbing Kotetsu and kissing him.

"I wasn't prepared to be in close quarters at all." Kotetsu chuckled, coaxing a kiss from his lips.

"…What's that?" Kaede asked, watching them kiss.

Barnaby turned and looked at Kaede. “Oh… it’s a kiss. Humans do it with someone they love.”

"So…dad does it?"

"It feels really nice." Kotetsu nodded.

“Sorry if it’s a little weird to you. I’m still used to human things. Like I can understand and write in their language, but I can’t speak it. I never really learned how.”

“I suspect there will be plenty of things we will learn from you,” Anju said.

"And we can teach him more of the mer way of life. I started to teach him, but for some things it's better to be here in the ocean in a colony or village to learn."

Hiro swam over to his uncle, settling down on top of his head with a sleepy coo. The swim in the ocean had been a long one, and the triplets weren't used to swimming long distances.

Muramasa went really still, careful not to knock the sleepy pup off of his head. At least the action had got him to smile a little, and it made Barnaby feel a little more connected to the family.

Kotetsu chuckled, "Lets head back home and put these three down for a nap and we can start to make the family nest bigger to allow comfortable space for all of us before we hunt for dinner."

“Sounds good to me. I’m a little hungry actually…” Barnaby covered his stomach as he flushed. “I’m still getting used to not eating three meals a day.”

"You can munch on a few plants for a snack to hold you over until we hunt. Won't be like a meal, but it should help." Kotetsu purred as the reunited family all turned to head home.

“I certainly have a lot to get used to.” Barnaby grabbed Kotetsu’s hand and squeezed it.

"We'll all help you find your place." Kotetsu continued to purr, happy to be back home with both his wild and captivity family members all in one place. It would be a bumpy ride for his mate and the triplets as they grew used to life in the wild, but together they would all make it through to calm waters in no time at all.

* * *

-End-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! We hope you have enjoyed it.
> 
> And yes, we know the trial is inaccurate to how they are run but *shrugs*


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